Open Access

REVIEW

Extracellular Vesicles as Therapeutic Tools against Infectious Diseases

CHIOMA C. EZEUKO^#, SANDANI V. T. WIJERATHNE^#, QIANA L. MATTHEWS^*

Microbiology Ph.D. Program, Department of Biological Sciences, Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA

* Corresponding Author: QIANA L. MATTHEWS. Email:
# These authors contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Exploring the Mechanism and Theranostic Potential of Extracellular RNAs in Current Medicine)

BIOCELL 2025, 49(9), 1605-1629. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2025.065474

Received 13 March 2025; Accepted 10 July 2025; Issue published 25 September 2025

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have arisen as potential therapeutic tools in managing infectious diseases because EVs can regulate cell-to-cell signaling, function as drug transport mechanisms, and influence immune reactions. They are obtained from a myriad of sources, such as plants, humans, and animal cells. EVs like exosomes and ectosomes can be utilized in their native form as therapeutics or engineered to encompass antimicrobials, vaccines, and oligonucleotides of interest with a targeted delivery strategy. An in-depth understanding of host-pathogen dynamics provides a solid foundation for exploiting its full potential in therapeutics against infectious diseases. This review mainly offers an extensive summary of EVs, comprising their various origins, formations, and pathogen relationships. It further provides insights into the various techniques utilized in isolating and engineering these vesicles to target infectious diseases and how challenges involving large-scale production and cargo loading efficiency should be addressed for clinical application. Finally, preclinical and clinical implementations of EVs derived from animals, plants, and microorganisms are elucidated, stressing their promise for designing innovative antimicrobial approaches.

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Keywords

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