中国科学院过程工程研究所,生物药制备与递送全国重点实验室,北京 100190
李瑞莲(1993—),女,博士。研究方向为真菌胞外囊泡在慢性疾病中的致病机制研究。
杜昱光(1963—),男,研究员,博士生导师,研究方向为糖链合成生物学与营养糖工程研究,推动功能糖产品在农业、食品及医药领域产业化应用。
收稿:2026-04-20,
修回:2026-07-03,
网络首发:2026-07-23,
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李瑞莲, 王倬, 杜昱光. 外泌体糖链编辑及其功能调控研究进展[J]. 合成生物学, 2026, 7. DOI: 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-028
LI Ruilian, WANG Zhuo, DU Yuguang. Research Progress on Exosome Glycan Editing and Its Functional Regulation[J]. Synthetic Biology Journal, 2026, 7. DOI: 10.12211/2096-8280.2026-028
外泌体是介导细胞间通讯的关键胞外囊泡,其表面糖链构成的糖萼结构被誉为细胞间通讯的“糖密码”,在靶向识别、细胞摄取、免疫调节及信号转导中发挥核心作用。然而,天然外泌体糖链的高度异质性导致其作为药物递送载体时面临靶向性不足、胞内递送效率低、体内易被清除等临床转化瓶颈。外泌体糖链编辑技术通过精准修饰或重构糖链结构,为突破上述难题提供了革命性手段,成为糖生物学与纳米医学交叉领域的研究前沿。本文系统综述了外泌体糖链的组成特征、分析技术进展与核心生物学功能,重点阐述了宿主细胞工程、体外直接修饰、合成生物学重构三大糖链编辑策略的技术原理与应用优势,深入解析了糖链编辑对外泌体靶向特异性、细胞内吞途径、免疫原性及货物装载的调控机制,总结了工程化糖链编辑外泌体在肿瘤、炎症性疾病、神经退行性疾病与代谢性疾病治疗中的应用前景。同时,本文指出该领域目前面临外泌体异质性难控、糖链编辑精度不足、规模化制备成本高、临床转化标准缺失等挑战,并展望未来将通过基因编辑、微流控、AI辅助设计等多技术融合,发展微环境响应型智能糖链编辑,深化糖链-货物调控机制解析,加快行业标准与监管体系建设,最终推动外泌体糖链编辑技术在精准医疗、靶向药物递送与疾病诊疗中的产业化落地。
Exosomes are 30-150 nm extracellular vesicles secreted by nearly all living cells
serving as essential carriers for intercellular communication. The glycocalyx on exosome surfaces
mainly composed of glycans from glycoproteins and glycolipids
acts as a critical "glycocode" that governs target recognition
cellular internalization
immune modulation
and signal transduction. However
the inherent high heterogeneity of native exosome glycans severely restricts their clinical translation
especially as drug delivery vehicles
due to insufficient targeting
low intracellular delivery efficiency
and rapid clearance by the immune system in vivo. Exosome glycan editing
an emerging interdisciplinary technology integrating glycobiology
synthetic biology
chemical biology
and nanotechnology
enables precise manipulation
modification
or de novo reconstruction of exosome glycan structures
offering a revolutionary strategy to optimize exosome performance and expand their therapeutic applications.This review systematically summarizes the compositional characteristics
advanced analytical techniques
and core biological functions of exosome glycans. It elaborates on three major glycan editing strategies: host cell engineering (in vivo editing)
in vitro direct modification
and synthetic biology reconstitution
highlighting their technical principles
advantages
and recent breakthroughs. The review further dissects the regulatory mechanisms of edited glycans on exosome biological behaviors
including targeting specificity
endocytic pathways
immunogenicity
and cargo loading (e.g.
miRNAs). It also comprehensively presents the application prospects of glycan-engineered exosomes in the treatment of tumors
inflammatory diseases
neurodegenerative disorders
and metabolic diseases.Nevertheless
the field still faces critical challenges
such as uncontrollable exosome heterogeneity
limited precision of glycan editing
high costs of large-scale preparation
and the lack of standardized quality control and regulatory systems for clinical translation. Future directions will focus on the integration of CRISPR gene editing
cell-free synthesis
microfluidics
and AI-assisted glycan design to develop microenvironment-responsive intelligent glycan editing
elucidate the molecular mechanisms of glycan-cargo crosstalk
establish unified industrial standards
and accelerate clinical translation. This review emphasizes that interdisciplinary convergence is indispensable for achieving precise programming of exosome glycan functions
which will greatly boost the development of exosome-based precision medicine and biotherapeutics.
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