Gene

Optics

Physics

Vesicle

microRNA

Crosstalk

Nanotechnology

Synthetic biology

Materials science

Microvesicles

Nucleic acid

Pathogenic bacteria

Extracellular vesicle

Extracellular vesicles

Membrane

Biomolecule

Bacteria

Genetics

Biochemistry

Computational biology

Biology

Cell biology

Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews

Extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated communication between proximal and distant cells is a highly conserved characteristic in all of the life domains, including bacteria. These vesicles that contain a variety of biomolecules, such as proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and small-molecule metabolites play a key role in the biology of bacteria. They are one of the key underlying mechanisms behind harmful or beneficial effects of many pathogenic, symbiont, and probiotic bacteria. These nanoscale EVs mediate extensive crosstalk with mammalian cells and deliver their cargos to the host. They are stable in physiological condition, can encapsulate diverse biomolecules and nanoparticles, and their surface could be engineered with available technologies. Based on favorable characteristics of bacterial vesicles, they can be harnessed for designing a diverse range of therapeutics and diagnostics for treatment of disorders including tumors and resistant infections. However, technical limitations for their production, purification, and characterization must be addressed in future studies.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles: Understanding biology promotes applications as nanopharmaceuticals