Wenqing Xu

Intranasal administration is a promising strategy to enhance the delivery of the sEVsomes-based drug delivery system to the central nervous system (CNS). This study aimed to explore central distributive characteristics of mesenchymal stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (MSC-sEVs) and underlying pathways. Here, we observed that intranasal MSC-sEVs were rapidly distributed to various brain regions, especially in the subcortex distant from the olfactory bulb, and were absorbed by multiple cells residing in these regions. We captured earlier transportation of intranasal MSC-sEVs into the perivascular space and found an increase in cerebrospinal fluid influx after intranasal administration, particularly in subcortical structures of anterior brain regions where intranasal sEVs were distributed more significantly. These results suggest that the perivascular pathway may underlie the rapid and widespread central delivery kinetics of intranasal MSC-sEVs and support the potential of the intranasal route to deliver MSC-sEVs to the brain for CNS therapy.

Neurological diseases remain some of the major causes of death and disability in the world. Few types of drugs and insufficient delivery across the blood–brain barrier limit the treatment of neurological disorders. The past two decades have seen the rapid development of extracellular vesicle-based therapeutics in many fields. As the physiological and pathophysiological roles of extracellular vesicles are recognized in neurological diseases, they have become promising therapeutics and targets for therapeutic interventions. Moreover, advanced nanomedicine technologies have explored the potential of extracellular vesicles as drug delivery systems in neurological diseases. In this review, we discussed the preclinical strategies for extracellular vesicle-based therapeutics in neurological disorders and the struggles involved in their clinical application.