bims-exocan 2026-05-17 papers

Issue of 2026–05–17
three papers selected by
Muhammad Rizwan, COMSATS University

Int J Pharm. 2026 May 07. pii: S0378-5173(26)00414-X. [Epub ahead of print]698 126966

Harnessing exosomes for advanced drug delivery in cancer theranostics.

Meenakshi Dhanawat, Garima, Kashish Wilson, Bharat Bhushan, Vansh Vohra, Anjana Karunakaran Nair, Pramila Chaubey, Neeraj Mittal, Jashan Girdhar.

Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles released by various cell types and have gained significant attention for their ability to transport diverse bioactive molecules. Their inherent stability, tumor-targeting capability, biocompatibility, and low immunogenicity make them promising candidates for drug delivery in cancer therapy. Despite these advantages, a gap remains between their biological understanding and optimal clinical application. Exosomes play a dual role in cancer as both therapeutic delivery systems and mediators of disease progression. Their phospholipid membrane enhances targeted drug delivery, while exosome-associated biomarkers offer new opportunities for cancer diagnosis. This review provides a comprehensive overview of exosome biogenesis, isolation methods, cargo loading strategies, roles in cancer progression, and applications in drug delivery and theranostics. It also highlights the advantages, limitations, and current clinical advancements of exosome-based systems. Overall, exosomes represent a cutting-edge platform with the potential to transform future cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Cancer nanomedicine; Exosomes; Immunotherapy; Nanocarriers; Personalized medicine; Targeted drug delivery

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2026.126966

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2026 May 08. pii: S0925-4439(26)00149-3. [Epub ahead of print] 168286

Extracellular vesicles in tumor immune escape and therapeutic resistance: mechanisms and immunopharmacological opportunities.

Zhehao Xiao, Ziman Luo, Lijun Chen, Song Qu.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key mediators of intercellular communication in cancer. In this review, we focus on how EVs mechanistically link tumor immune escape with therapeutic resistance and how these insights may be translated into immunopharmacological opportunities. Tumor-derived EVs remodel the tumor microenvironment by suppressing antitumor immunity, promoting regulatory immune phenotypes, and facilitating resistance to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Conversely, selected immune cell-derived EVs and engineered EV platforms show therapeutic potential for immune modulation and targeted drug delivery. We further discuss major translational challenges, including EV heterogeneity, incomplete standardization of isolation and characterization, limited large-scale production, and insufficient in vivo biodistribution assessment. Overall, EVs represent both pathogenic mediators and promising therapeutic tools, and a deeper mechanistic understanding may support the development of more clinically translatable EV-directed cancer strategies.

Keywords: Engineered extracellular vesicles; Extracellular vesicles; Immunotherapy resistance; Tumor immune escape; Tumor microenvironment

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2026.168286

Int J Pharm. 2026 May 07. pii: S0378-5173(26)00294-2. [Epub ahead of print]698 126846

Smart exosomes: multimodal engineering strategies for logic-gated and stimuli-responsive precision theranostics.

Yuhe Hu, Xue Yang, Fuxing Shu, Leilei Jin, Surendra Sarsaiya, Shiqing Han, Jishuang Chen.

Exosomes are endogenous extracellular vesicles with exceptional biocompatibility and intrinsic targeting potential, yet their clinical translation is limited by functional heterogeneity, insufficient controllability, and lack of spatiotemporal precision. While numerous engineering strategies have been developed, most remain confined to single-function enhancement and fail to achieve coordinated, programmable therapeutic control. In this Review, we propose the concept of "smart exosomes" as a next-generation paradigm for exosome engineering, defined by multi-stimuli responsiveness, Boolean logic-gated signal processing, and multimodal theranostic integration. We summarize exosomal biomarkers across animal-, plant-, and microbial-derived vesicles and highlight their evolving roles from passive identifiers to active structural and functional interfaces for intelligent design. Natural exosome organotropism and surface molecular fingerprints are discussed as a biological foundation for precision targeting. We further review the major exosome engineering strategies, including genetic modification, chemical conjugation, physical manipulation, and exosome-nanocarrier hybridization, which together constitute a versatile engineering toolbox. A central focus is the integration of endogenous and exogenous cues-such as pH, redox status, enzymatic activity, and external physical stimuli-into logic-gated exosome systems capable of multi-input sensing and conditional activation. Importantly, we explicitly differentiate experimentally validated logic-gated exosome systems from hypothetical or extrapolated designs, and we discuss the key technological barriers to achieving true multi-input Boolean logic execution in vivo. Such designs enable programmable cargo release, imaging feedback, and precisely controlled therapeutic action. Finally, we discuss key translational challenges and outline future directions toward AI-assisted design, plant-derived exosome platforms, and cooperative multi-stimulus response systems. Collectively, this Review establishes a conceptual framework for programmable exosome-based precision theranostics.

Keywords: Logic-gated drug delivery; Multimodal exosome engineering; Precision theranostics; Smart exosomes; Stimuli-responsive exosomes

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2026.126846