Exosomes: A Promising Strategy for Repair, Regeneration and Treatment of Skin Disorders

The skin is the organ that serves as the outermost layer of protection against injury, pathogens, and homeostasis with external factors; in turn, it can be damaged by factors such as burns, trauma, exposure to ultraviolet light (UV), infrared radiation (IR), activating signaling pathways such as Toll-like receptors (TLR) and Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), among others, causing a need to subsequently repair and regenerate the skin. However, pathologies such as diabetes lengthen the inflammatory stage, complicating the healing process and, in some cases, completely inhibiting it, generating susceptibility to infections. Exosomes are nano-sized extracellular vesicles that can be isolated and purified from different sources such as blood, urine, breast milk, saliva, urine, umbilical cord bile cells, and mesenchymal stem cells. They have bioactive compounds that, thanks to their paracrine activity, have proven to be effective as anti-inflammatory agents, inducers of macrophage polarization and accelerators of skin repair and regeneration, reducing the possible complications relating to poor wound repair, and prolonged inflammation. This review provides information on the use of exosomes as a promising therapy against damage from UV light, infrared radiation, burns, and skin disorders.

Nephroprotective Plants: A Review on the Use in Pre-Renal and Post-Renal Diseases

Kidney diseases are expected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040. Several physiological failures classified as pre-, intra-, and post-renal factors induce kidney damage. Diabetes, liver pathologies, rhabdomyolysis, and intestinal microbiota have been identified as pre-renal factors, and lithiasis or blood clots in the ureters, prostate cancer, urethral obstructions, prostate elongation, and urinary tract infections are post-renal factors. Additionally, the nephrotoxicity of drugs has been highlighted as a crucial factor inducing kidney injuries. Due to the adverse effects of drugs, it is necessary to point to other alternatives to complement the treatment of these diseases, such as nephroprotective agents. Plants are a wide source of nephroprotective substances and can have beneficial effects in different levels of the physiological pathways which lead to kidney damage. In traditional medicines, plants are used as antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, diuretics, and anticancer agents, among other benefits. However, the mechanism of action of some plants empirically used remains unknown and scientific data are required to support their nephroprotective effects. The present work reviewed the plants with a beneficial effect on kidney diseases. The classification of nephroprotective plants according to the clinical definition of pre-renal, intrinsic, and post-renal factors is proposed to orient their use as complementary treatments.