[The biological role of exosomes in bone remodeling and bone diseases.]

Exosomes are about 100nm membrane vesicles, and released from almost all cell types. They carry and transfer a wide variety of molecules, such as mRNAs, microRNAs, proteins, and lipids, as modulators of intercellular communication. Various studies have shown that this exosome-mediated intercellular communication lead to proliferation, invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. In addition to that, emerging data suggest that exosomes are also involved in physiological processes of bone remodeling and bone diseases. Increasing understanding of the working mechanism of exosomes will provide us with new therapeutic and diagnostic opportunities. Here we summarize the current research on exosomes in bone remodeling and bone diseases.