Table 2.
Essential information on various exosomes and exosomal molecules in different parasitic diseases.
| Disease | Pathogen | Exosome type/molecule | Cell origin | Functions | Mechanism | Potential applications | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malaria | P. falciparum | Exosome-like vesicle | iRBC | Promote malaria transmission and parasite survival | Intercellular communication via gene delivery | Target of malaria therapeutics | (14) |
| P. yoelii | Exosome | Infected reticulocyte | Induce reticulocytosis and a protective immune response | Antigen presentation by exosomes with parasite proteins | Malaria vaccine | (15) | |
| Exosome | iRBC | Inhibit angiogenesis and tumor growth | miRNAs in exosomes inhibit VEGFR2 expression in endothelial cells | Anticancer drug | (16) | ||
| Leishmaniasis | L. donovani | Exosome | Parasite | Inhibit the macrophage immune response | Induce macrophages to secrete IL-8 rather than TNF-α | Unknown | (17) |
| Exosome | Parasite | Inhibit the immune responses of monocytes and monocyte-derived DCs | Facilitate IL-10 production and dampen TNF-α activation to inhibit the monocyte immune response to IFN-γ; reduce monocyte-derived DC production of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-10 and IL-12p70 | Vaccine adjuvant for leishmaniasis | (18) | ||
| CPN10 | Parasite | Inhibit parasite survival but simultaneously dampen the macrophage immune response | Inhibit Leishmania uptake by macrophages but negatively regulate macrophage immunity-related proteins | Unknown | (19) | ||
| L. mexicana | Exosome | Infected macrophages | Modulate the host immune response and promote Leishmania survival | Activate signal molecules and immune-related DNA | Unknown | (20) | |
| EF-1α | Parasite | Modulate the host immune response and promote Leishmania survival | Activate PTPs, modulate IFN-γ signaling and inhibit macrophage reactions, including the production of TNF-α and NO | Unknown | (21) | ||
| L. major | GP63* | Parasite | Immune modulation, exacerbation of the Leishmania infection and exosome formation | Regulate PTPs and TFs in macrophages; inhibit IL-1β production via inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome; cleave Dicer1 and reduce miRNA-122 production and serum cholesterol; modulate Leishmania exosome cargo sorting | Potential therapeutic target | (22) | |
| LmPRL-1 | Parasite | Promote parasite survival in the host and induce protective immunity | Unknown | Unknown | (23) | ||
| LieIF | Parasite | Inhibit Leishmania growth | Promote NO and ROS production with or without activation of MIP-1a and TNF-α | Potential therapeutic molecule | (24) | ||
| Toxoplasmosis | T. gondii | Exosome | Infected DCs | Induce protective immunity against T. gondii infection | Prompt the proliferation of splenocytes with the enrichment of Th1 cytokines such as IL-2 and IFN-γ and reduced expression of Th2 cytokines such as IL-5 and IL-10 | Vaccine preparation | (25) |
| Exosome | Infected SRDCs | Induce protective immunity against T. gondii infection | Induce a strong cellular response and humoral response, including the increased production of serum antibodies and IgA antibodies in the intestinal tract | Vaccine preparation | (26) | ||
| Exosome | Infected macrophages | Induce protective immunity against T. gondii infection | Exosomes contain PAMPs as a crucial mechanism for immune surveillance in a TLR- and MyD88-dependent manner | Vaccine preparation | (26) | ||
| Exosome-like vesicle | Infected human foreskin fibroblasts | Most likely mediating neurologic effects in the T. gondii infection | The exosome is full of mRNA, including thymosin beta 4, eukaryotic translation EF-1α, Rab-13 and LLP homolog, which were previously described to mediate neurologic activity | Unknown | (27) | ||
| Exosome | Infected cells | L6 cells present alterations in the cell cycle and cell proliferation and retention at the S or G2/M cell phase | 11 miRNAs in exosomes were supposed to regulate the expression of host cell genes | Unknown | (28) | ||
| Exosome | Parasite | Induce protective immunity against T. gondii infection | Promote macrophage activation with increased production of IFN-γ, IL-12 and TNF-α; moreover, both humoral and cellular immune responses are stimulated in this process | Vaccine preparation | (29) | ||
| Trichomoniasis | T. vaginalis | Exosome | Parasite | Facilitate T. vaginalis invasion and modulate host inflammatory activation | Promote pathogen adherence to epithelial cells; inhibit IL-8 secretion by ectocervical cells and neutrophil migration to the infection site | Potential use in trichomoniasis diagnosis and treatment | (30) |
| Exosome-like vesicle | Parasite | Modulate the host immune response and dampen the inflammatory reaction | Promote IL-10 production and inhibit the expression of immune cytokines such as IL-6, IL-13 and IL-17 | Unknown | (31) | ||
| T. brucei | Exosome | Parasite | Play an important role in pathogenic processes and parasite nutrient supply | Mediate the release of most excreted/secreted proteins | Unknown | (32, 33) | |
| Exosome | Parasite | Modulate Trypanosome social motility | Keep pathogens away from injured cells and inappropriate environments | Unknown | (34) | ||
| Exosome | Parasite | Modulate rRNA, snoRNA and mRNA processing and quality control | Unknown | Unknown | (35–37) | ||
| T. cruzi | Exosome | Parasite | Promote the transformation of T. cruzi from the epimastigote to the trypomastigote form and increase host cell susceptibility by inducing changes in the expression profiles of some genes | Exosome-contained tsRNAs can be passed on to other pathogen and host cells | Unknown | (38) | |
| Schistosomiasis | S. japonicum | Exosome-like vesicle | Parasite | Mediate parasite-host communications and activate the host immune response | Promote M1 macrophage polarization with increased production of pro-inflammatory factors | Potential use of diagnostic markers, new vaccines, and therapies for schistosomiasis | (39) |
| Exosome-like vesicle | Parasite | Deliver miRNA to mammalian cells | Mediate parasite-host interactions | Unknown | (40) | ||
| Exosome | Schistosoma japonicum SEA-pulsed DCs | Attenuate the severity and repress the progression of IBD | Reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and promote the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines via an unknown mechanism | Immunosuppressive drug | (41) | ||
| S. mansoni | Exosome | Parasite | Play important roles in host-parasite interactions | Not clear | Vaccines and therapeutics | (42) | |
| EVs | Sera of infected patients | New tool for diagnosing schistosomiasis | The 2 highest expressed miRNAs in the EVs has the highest sensitivity and specificity. | Diagnosis method | (43) | ||
| Lymphatic filariasis | B. malayi | Exosome-like vesicle | Parasite | Plays an important role in early infection; regulate the host immune response | Deliver proteins and small RNA species; M1 macrophage polarization | New targets for disease intervention and diagnosis | (44) |
| Fascioliasis | F. hepatica | Exosome-like vesicle | Parasite | Parasite-host communications | Exosome-like vesicles are internalized by intestinal cells | Unknown | (45, 46) |
| Rodent intestinal infection | H. polygyrus | Exosome | Parasite | Inhibit a type 2 innate response and eosinophilia activation, subsequently repressing the host immune response; 9- to 62-fold increase in plasmalogen content and a relative lack of sphingomyelin and cholesterol in H. polygyrus exosomes | miRNA and Y RNA in exosomes suppress the expression of genes related to inflammatory reactions such as dampening the activation of IL-33 and DUSP1; increase membrane rigidity and stability | Potential use of immunomodulatory treatment | (47) |
| Cystic echinococcosis | Echinococcus granulosus | Exosome | Parasite | Have an important effect on macrophages and the interplay between parasites and hosts | Exosomes have highly immunogenic and tolerogenic antigens and peptidases. | Unknown | (48) |
| Exosomes can reduce the production of NO but do not affect IL-10 | |||||||
| Parasitic gastroenteritis | Teladorsagia circumcincta | Exosome-like vesicle | Parasite | Affect host immunity | Proteins in exosome-like vesicles can be bound by IgA and IgG | Potentially key for vaccine development and production | (49) |