The Role and Application of Exosomes and Their Cargos in Reproductive Diseases: A Systematic Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Exosomes are a subtype of extracellular vesicles with a size range between 30 and 150 nm, which can be released by the majority of cell types and circulate in body fluids. Exosomes are composed of lipids, proteins, RNA, DNA, and other substances related to cell origin. Moreover, exosomes can use their small size and relative durability to cross various cellular barriers and reach target cells to play a regulatory role. Therefore, exosomes have emerged as a potential test target and potential treatment options for reproductive diseases, including polycystic ovary syndrome, preeclampsia, premature ovarian failure, polycystic, endometriosis, and reproductive cancers. In this review, a systematic search was conducted in PubMed using the related keywords through September 2022 and then highlights our knowledge about the contribution of exosomes their cargos to reproductive diseases, such as proteins, lipids, DNA, and RNA. In the future, with the development of various highly-sensitive and high-throughput analytical methods, the research and application of exosomes in the field of reproductive disease detection will be greatly accelerated. ABSTRACT: In recent years, the incidence of the reproductive diseases is increasing year-by-year, leading to abortion or fetal arrest, which seriously affects the reproductive health of human beings and the reproductive efficiency of animals. Exosomes are phospholipid bilayer vesicles that are widely distributed in living organisms and released by the cells of various organs and tissues. Exosomes contain proteins, RNA, lipids, and other components and are important carriers of information transfer between cells, which play a variety of physiological and pathological regulatory functions. More and more studies have found that exosomes and their connotations play an important role in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of diseases. A systematic review was conducted in this manuscript and then highlights our knowledge about the diagnostic and therapeutic applications of exosomes to reproductive diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, premature ovarian failure (POF), preeclampsia, polycystic, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostate gland cancer.