Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (31): 8210-8218.doi: 10.12307/2026.437

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Extracellular vesicles as gene therapy vectors: engineering strategies, mechanistic advantages, and clinical applications

Zhang Enqi1, Wu Hongwei1, Wu Chengliang1, Yang Tianqi1, Tang Weijie1, Wang Wenhui1, Yu Zeming1, Zhang Yanwen2, Wang Yuebing1, 3   

  1. 1Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin 300071, China; 2College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; 3First Central Hospital, Nankai University, Tianjin 300192, China 
  • Received:2025-11-06 Accepted:2026-01-29 Online:2026-11-08 Published:2026-05-25
  • Contact: Wang Yuebing, MD, Professor, Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin 300071, China; First Central Hospital, Nankai University, Tianjin 300192, China
  • About author:Zhang Enqi, Nankai University School of Medicine, Tianjin 300071, China
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 32371426 (to WYB); Tianjin Natural Science Foundation, No. 24JCZDJC01380 (to WYB); Independent Research Project Fund of Institute of Transplant Medicine of Nankai University, No. NKTM2023005 (to WYB); 2024 Nankai University “National Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program”, No. 202410055093 (to WYB)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Gene therapy offers novel therapeutic prospects for refractory diseases including genetic disorders and malignancies. However, conventional delivery vectors (such as viral vectors and lipid nanoparticles) exhibit significant limitations: high immunogenicity, constrained loading capacity, poor penetration across biological barriers, and insufficient targeting specificity. Extracellular vesicles, with their unique ability to cross biological barriers (including the blood-brain barrier), their multifunctional cargo characteristics for bioactive molecules such as nucleic acids and proteins, and their inherent low immunogenicity and excellent biocompatibility, effectively overcome these bottlenecks, making them a highly promising non-viral gene delivery platform.
OBJECTIVE: To summarize the engineering strategies, mechanism advantages, and clinical application research progress of extracellular vesicles as novel gene delivery vectors, clarify the clinical transformation challenges and future development directions, and promote the innovative application of extracellular vesicles as non-viral vectors in the field of gene therapy.
METHODS: Using "extracellular vesicles, gene therapy, drug delivery systems, loading strategies, targeted therapy" as the subject term and synonyms to search the PubMed database, and combining the method of literature tracking, 107 articles that met the requirements were finally included for the review.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Extracellular vesicles possess the inherent property of delivering various bioactive molecules, including messenger RNA, small interfering RNA, deoxyribonucleic acid and functional proteins. By regulating the gene expression and protein function of recipient cells, they provide a novel delivery platform for precise gene therapy. (2) Through systematic engineering modifications using endogenous strategies (genetic modification of donor cells) and exogenous strategies (physical/chemical modifications after isolation), the loading efficiency and stability of therapeutic molecules in extracellular vesicles can be significantly enhanced, overcoming the limitation of insufficient drug loading capacity of natural extracellular vesicles. (3) Engineered extracellular vesicles modified with targeting ligands (such as peptides and antibody fragments) and surface stability modifications (such as overexpression of CD47) can effectively enhance the specific enrichment in lesion tissues, prolong the half-life in the body and reduce the systemic clearance rate, laying the foundation for expanding their clinical application.

Key words: extracellular vesicles, gene therapy, drug delivery, drug loading, targeted therapy

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