Fig. 6.

The potential clinical application of exosomes in OA. a Isolation and analysis of exosomes. Pipeline of exosome separation, purification, and identification. b Exosomal contents for biomarkers. Exosomes are rich in bioactive molecules, including DNAs, mRNAs, ncRNAs, proteins, metabolites, cytokines, and lipids, and can be used as potential biomarkers; c Exosomal ncRNAs as biomarkers for OA. Exosomal miRNA and lncRNA can be used for diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of OA. d Exosomes act as a drug delivery system in OA. Exosomes are isolated from naive or modified donor cells to promote the efficiency of cargo delivery. e Exosome-based tissue engineering strategy to repair cartilage. Exosomes engineered for cartilage repair, combined with hydrogel scaffolding and 3D printing techniques, effectively promote in situ repair of cartilage defects. OA osteoarthritis, ECM extracellular matrix