Platelet-derived Extracellular Vesicles: An Emerging Therapeutic Approach

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a newly-discovered way by which cells communicate with their neighbors, as well as transporting cargos which once were considered to be limited by membrane barriers, including membrane proteins, cytosolic proteins and RNA. The discovery of platelet-derived EVs (P-EVs), the most abundant EVs in human blood, has been a very tortuous process. At first, P-EVs were identified as nothing but 'platelet dust', and subsequent research did not progress smoothly because of the limited research techniques to study EVs. Following leaps and bounds of technical progress in studying EVs, more and more attractive features of P-EVs were revealed and they began to be further researched. The aim of this review is to present the latest knowledge about the role of P-EVs in tissue repair and tumor progression. The potential mechanism of P-EVs is emphasized. Then the limitations of the present study and future research directions are discussed.