Nucleic Acids within Extracellular Vesicles: Functional Role in Health and Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed vesicles of nanometric size that are released outside the cell and present in every fluid of the body. They were initially considered a garbage disposal tool, but current advances indicate that they play an important role in intercellular signaling. A major feature of EVs is their ability to carry functional macromolecules. These include not only proteins and lipids, but also nucleic acids. EVs carry both DNA and RNA, and for this reason, they are considered a means of horizontal gene transfer. Different nucleic acids are carried by EVs. As for DNA, the presence of genomic and mitochondrial DNA into EVs has been reported, as well as the presence of oncogenic DNA in vesicles circulating in cancer patients. As for RNA, the presence of miRNA has been widely observed, as well as the presence of lncRNA and mRNA, which are also key functional effectors of EVs. Further, advanced sequencing techniques have also provided evidence of the presence of other RNA species, such as snRNA, snoRNA, and piRNA. EVs are relatively stable and can be easily isolated from body fluids; therefore, the presence of nucleic acids has attracted considerable interest for diagnostic purposes. In this Special Issue of Genes, we invite authors to submit original research and review articles illustrating the presence and functional role of different nucleic acids in EVs, the molecular mechanism underlying their loading, and their possible applications in diagnosis and therapy.

Prof. Carla Emiliani
Prof. Sandra Buratta
Prof. Brunella Tancini
Prof. Lorena Urbanelli
Guest Editors

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