Affiliations: [a] Department of Regenerative Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| [b] The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Yi Hou, Department of Regenerative Medicine, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Jilin University, 828 Xinmin Street, Chaoyang District, Changchun, China. Tel.: +86 13009123298; Fax: +0431 85619715; E-mail: houyi@jlu.edu.cn and Guangfan Chi, The Key Laboratory of Pathobiology, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, 126 Xinmin Street, Chaoyang District, Changchun, China. Tel.: +86 13756482684; Fax: +0431-85619481; E-mail: guangfan130@jlu.edu.cn.
Abstract: Millions of patients worldwide are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and the number of patients with AD is increasing. However, current treatment can only improve symptoms but cannot cure the disease. Astrocytes, glial cells in the central nervous system, play important roles in support, nutrition, protection, and information transmission in the nervous system. Pathological changes in astrocytes are closely associated with the development and progression of AD. As carriers for material and information exchange between astrocytes and other neural cells, astrocyte-derived exosomes (ADEs) have been widely studied in recent years, and ADE secretion has been shown to be increased in patients with AD and animal models of AD. ADEs contain a variety of substances, including nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. The contents of ADEs can effectively control oxidative stress and detoxification during the early development of AD, thereby playing positive and negative roles in the occurrence and development of AD. In this review, we elaborate on the functions of ADEs and their components in AD and discuss their applications in AD research and clinical practice.
