Examining the Effect of Exercise and Disease on Exosomes and Exploring Potential Therapeutic Uses

Exercise is known to have beneficial effects on the body, but how and why exactly is that true? One theory is that the effects that various biomolecules, carried by exosomes, have throughout the body are behind the benefits seen with exercise. Many cytokines have been determined to have impacts on different tissues. It is possible that exercise causes an increase in secretion of certain cytokines, in which case they can be called exerkines. It is also possible that these biomolecules are shuttled throughout the body in vesicles called exosomes, which may increase with exercise as well. Research on this topic is relatively new, but if the mechanisms and contents of exosomes can be determined, there are several therapeutic uses that could be used in a clinical setting someday. This review explains what is known about several cytokines and examines the possibility of a relationship between said cytokines and exosomes. After that, possible therapeutic uses will be explored, and future directions will be discussed