| Popis: |
Despite advancements in critical care and resuscitation, traumatic injuries are one of the leading causes of death around the world and can bring about long-term disabilities in survivors. One of the primary causes of death for trauma patients are secondary phase complications that can develop weeks or months after the initial insult. These secondary complications typically occur due to systemic immune dysfunction that develops in response to injury which can lead to immunosuppression, coagulopathy, multiple organ failure, unregulated inflammation, and potentially sepsis in patients. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified as mediators of these processes since their levels are increased in circulation after traumatic injury and they encapsulate cargo that can aggravate secondary complications. In this review, we will discuss the role of EVs in the post-trauma pathologies that arise after burn injuries, trauma to the central nervous system, and infection. Additionally, we will examine the use of EVs as biomarkers for predicting late-stage trauma outcomes and as therapeutics for reversing the pathological processes that develop post-trauma. Overall, EVs have emerged as critical mediators of trauma-associated pathology and their use as a therapeutic agent represents an exciting new field of biomedicine. |
