Much of the communication between cells passes back and forth in the form of extracellular vesicles, membrane-wrappd packages of molecules that are presently far from completely cataloged or understood. This lack of full understanding hasn’t stopped the growth of an industry seeking to replace stem cell therapies with vesicles harvested from those stem cells. It seems clear from the evidence to date that most stem cell therapies produce benefits via signaling, and not because transplanted cells survive to engraft in any meaningful numbers. In principle, use of vesicles allows for less expensive, more logistically practical forms of treatment, as vesicles can be indefinitely stored, and their production invol…
Extracellular Vesicles from Embryonic Stem Cells Reduce Cellular Senescence
Much of the communication between cells passes back and forth in the form of extracellular vesicles, membrane-wrappd packages of molecules that are presently far from completely cataloged or understood. This lack of full understanding hasn’t stopped the growth of an industry seeking to replace stem cell therapies with vesicles harvested from those stem cells. It seems clear from the evidence to date that most stem cell therapies produce benefits via signaling, and not because transplanted cells survive to engraft in any meaningful numbers. In principle, use of vesicles allows for less expensive, more logistically practical forms of treatment, as vesicles can be indefinitely stored, and their production invol…