Extracellular Vesicles for Nucleic Acid Delivery

RNA-based therapeutics offer a potential treatment modality for various type of diseases and disorders viz. heart diseases, central nervous system disorders, cancer, and other diseases related to infections. Although RNA-based therapeutics have shown their potential against a variety of diseases, at this time poor stability in the systemic circulation leading to the degradation before it reaches to the target cell is the major hurdle. To overcome the poor stability problem a variety of synthetic polymers, lipids, and virus-based delivery vehicles have been investigated. However, limited efficacy and toxicity kept pestering the researcher to come up with a new delivery vehicle which would not only inhibit the degradation of RNA but also deliver it effectively to its target. In an effort to find a robust delivery system, extracellular vesicles (EVs) came into the picture that are biocompatible and thus less toxic and offer higher delivery efficacy as compared to synthetic vehicles. With several positive reports, the EV based delivery system has sparked huge interest for both academic research and clinical utilization. In this chapter, we have collaborated in brief concerning the origin and composition of EVs, the current expertise in-depth biology on EVs, and the role of EVs intracellular interaction, major nucleic acid loading techniques into EVs, along with functionalized EVs and their therapeutic application.