The potential therapeutic role of camel milk exosomes – A review

Exosomes (EXOs) are naturally occurring nano-sized vesicles released into the extracellular environment by exocytosis. EXOs contribute to intercellular communications by regulating DNA, mRNA, and protein levels. EXOs are considered good vehicles for delivering therapeutic agents in multiple diseases. Camel milk (CM) is a valuable food with a rich source of EXOs. Camel milk exosomes (CMEXOs) have unique ingredients compared to other animal milks. It is reported that CMEXOs reduce the growth of cancer cells by inducing apoptosis, and inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation. CMEXOs can block stress signaling pathways including inflammation and apoptosis which could be resulted in adverse effects if medication levels exceed the therapeutic range. Moreover, CMEXOs improve the antioxidant capability in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. On the other hand, the anti-angiogenesis property of CMEXOs has been reported via decrease in expression of the angiogenesis-related gene of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). It is predicted that exosomal lactoferrin (LF) and kappa casein (KC) mRNAs are crucial parts of CMEXOs mediating their anticancer effects. The immunomodulatory effect of CMEXOs may be attributed to their high contents of LF and KC. According to previous works, CMEXOs are promising alternatives in developing new therapeutic models for multipile diseases. This review aims to provide an overview of the isolation, characterization and biological activities of the exosomes derived from camel milk for addressing their possible use in therapeutics.