Extracellular vesicles in cardiovascular disease therapy

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, imposing a substantial global health and economic burden. Despite significant advances in pharmacological and interventional therapies, critical gaps persist in early detection, tissue repair, and long-term disease management: particularly in conditions such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiac fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies.Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, have emerged as key mediators of intercellular communication in the cardiovascular system. By trafficking bioactive cargo, including coding and non-coding RNAs (such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs), proteins, and lipids, EVs regulate fundamental processes such as cardiac remodeling, vascular inflammation, smooth muscle cell function, and myocardial tissue repair. These properties position EVs at the intersection of cardiovascular pathophysiology and pharmacology, opening new avenues for therapeutic delivery, target identification, and disease monitoring.This Research Topic brings together cutting-edge original research and comprehensive reviews at the frontier of EV biology and cardiovascular pharmacology. We welcome contributions covering:• Molecular mechanisms governing EV biogenesis, cargo loading, and uptake in cardiac and smooth muscle cell contexts• Coding (mRNA) and Non-coding RNA cargo (miRNAs, lncRNAs, tRNA fragments) as pharmacological targets or therapeutic tools in CVD• EV engineering strategies for targeted cardiac drug delivery and vascular intervention• EV-based liquid biopsy approaches for cardiovascular biomarker discovery and disease monitoring• Pharmacological modulation of EV release, uptake, and function• Epigenetic regulation of EV-mediated cardiovascular signaling• Translational models and clinical development pipelines for EV-based cardiovascular therapeutics• By integrating molecular insights with pharmacological innovation, this Research Topic aims to accelerate the translation of EV biology from bench discovery to clinical application in cardiovascular medicine. Topic editors: Vittoria Di Mauro, Alex Cleber Improta Caria, Priyanka Gokulnath Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81469/extracellular-vesicles-in-cardiovascular-disease-therapy