Extracellular vesicles in cardiovascular homeostasis and disease: potential role in diagnosis and therapy

Communication between multicellular organs is essential to propagate signals and coordinate their function. Over the past decade, the role of extracellular vesicles in the molecular communication between cells in both physiological and pathological settings has received much attention. Extracellular vesicles can shuttle proteins, lipids and nucleic acids (such as RNA) between cells, thus inducing an array of functional changes in the recipient cells. In this Review, we describe the different extracellular vesicle subclasses and their heterogeneous nature, provide insights into extracellular vesicle-mediated signalling in the cardiovascular system, and highlight how extracellular vesicles can be used as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for a variety of pathological conditions. Finally, we also discuss the potential therapeutic applications of extracellular vesicles.