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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Jan 11.
Published in final edited form as: Immunity. 2022 Jan 11;55(1):31–55. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.12.013

Figure 2. Exosomes as regulators of intercellular and interorgan crosstalk in metabolism.

Figure 2

The release of exosomes from adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs), hepatocytes and islet β-cells have systemic metabolic effects. Exosomal miRNA (miR)-690 from M2-like ATMs improves insulin sensitivity, while miR-155 from M1-like ATMs can cause insulin resistance. In early stage HFD, hepatocytes secrete exosomes containing miR-3075, which produces beneficial metabolic effects. In contrast, the hepatocyte exosomes in chronically obese mice contain miR-434-5p, which promotes inflammation and insulin resistance. Exosomes from steatotic hepatocytes also contain pathogenic miRs, such as miR-128 and miR-1, that can induce inflammation or cause hepatic stellate cell activation, promoting NASH. β-cells stressed by pro-inflammatory stimuli release exosomes containing miR-21-5p, which can induce apoptosis in neighboring β-cells.