Extracellular Vesicles as Signaling Mediators in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus type 2, a chronic metabolic disease, has globally increased in incidence and prevalence throughout the lifespan due to the rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyle. The end-organ cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects of diabetes mellitus result in significant morbidity and mortality that increases with age. Thus, it is crucial to fully understand how molecular mechanisms are influenced by diabetes mellitus and may influence the development of end organ complications. Circulating factors are known to play important physiological and pathological roles in diabetes. Recent data has implicated extracellular vesicles (EVs) as being circulating mediators in type 2 diabetes. These small lipid-bound vesicles are released by cells into the circulation and can carry functional cargo including, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids to neighboring cells or between tissues. In this review, we will summarize the current evidence for EVs as promising diagnostic and prognostic factors in diabetes, the mechanisms that drive EV alterations with diabetes and the role EVs play in the pathology associated with diabetes.