Extracellular Vesicles: New Players in the Mechanisms of Sepsis- and COVID-19-Related Thromboinflammation

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 3; p. 1920
• Main Authors: Schiavello, Martina, Vizio, Barbara, Bosco, Ornella, Pivetta, Emanuele, Mariano, Filippo, Montrucchio, Giuseppe, Lupia, Enrico
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Biological properties; Blood clots; Blood platelets; Cardiovascular diseases; Chemokines; Coagulation; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; Cytokines; Disease; Endothelium; Extracellular vesicles; Extracellular Vesicles - pathology; Humans; Illnesses; Infections; Inflammation; Influenza; Mortality; Nanoparticles; Neutrophils; Pathogens; Players; Respiratory distress syndrome; Review; Sepsis; Sepsis - complications; Sepsis - pathology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Therapeutic applications; Thromboinflammation; Thrombosis; Thrombosis - etiology; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vesicles; Viral infections; Viruses; COVID-19; thromboinflammation; extracellular vesicles; sepsis
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24031920

Sepsis and COVID-19 patients often manifest an imbalance in inflammation and coagulation, a complex pathological mechanism also named thromboinflammation, which strongly affects patient prognosis. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoparticles released by cells into extracellular space that have a relevant role in cell-to-cell communication. Recently, EVs have been shown to act as important players in a variety of pathologies, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. The biological properties of EVs in the mechanisms of thromboinflammation during sepsis and COVID-19 are still only partially known. Herein, we summarize the current experimental evidence on the role of EVs in thromboinflammation, both in bacterial sepsis and in COVID-19. A better understanding of EV involvement in these processes could be useful in describing novel diagnostic and therapeutic applications of EVs in these diseases.