Small extracellular vesicles that carry biological signals, and a promising route to repairing damaged dental tissue.
Restoring the structure and function of damaged oral tissues by harnessing the body’s own healing mechanisms.
Membrane-bound vesicles (30–150 nm) that mediate intercellular communication, carrying proteins, lipids, mRNA and miRNA.
Intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) form.
ILVs accumulate in multivesicular bodies.
MVBs fuse with the plasma membrane.
Exosomes reach recipient cells.
Delivered signals alter cell behavior.
Proteins, lipids and microRNAs stimulate survival, growth and division, replacing damaged cells.
Boost fibroblast activity, collagen production and ECM formation, filling damaged areas.
May modulate immune cells and cytokine signaling to support effective repair.
Studied for driving osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis to nourish new bone.
Promote DPSC proliferation and differentiation, odontoblast-like cells and dentin regeneration.
Stimulate PDLSCs to regenerate ligament, alveolar bone and cementum with functional attachment.
A potential cell-free alternative to whole stem cell transplantation, still under investigation.
Studied to improve osseointegration and bone healing; more clinical research is needed.
Proteins, miRNAs and other biomarkers could flag neurological disorders, cancer and immune-related diseases.
Unlike traditional chemotherapy, which can damage healthy cells, exosomes are being studied as targeted drug delivery systems that bring anti-cancer drugs to tumor cells more precisely, potentially reducing side effects.
Overcoming today’s challenges could make exosome therapy clinically applicable across regenerative dentistry.