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Background:
Osteoporosis is a growing public health problem. It is known that stress-related diseases such as depression may impair bone quality and lead to osteoporosis. The association between psychosocial stress and bone health may be triggered by alterations of mitochondrial function and cell signaling and intercellular communication. In this context, extracellular vesicles (EVs) may be relevant due to their crucial role in intercellular communicators through the transfer of cargo.
Aim:
This narrative review aims to summarize if the cargo of extracellular vesicles can constitute a biological link between psychosocial stress and osteoporosis.
Methods:
To evaluate this research question, a thorough literature search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. The research keywords are allostatic load, bone remodeling, microRNA, osteoblast, and osteoclast. A total of 21 articles were included in the narrative review.
Results:
We found that certain miRNAs in EVs, including miR-126a-3p, miR-128-3p, and miR-187-5p, have been described as crucial players in both psychosocial stress and osteoporosis.
Discussion:
This review describes EVs and their cargo as a potential mediator linking psychosocial stress and osteoporosis for the first time by highlighting common crucial miRNAs. However, based on the included studies, it is unclear whether EV-mediated transport of biological cargoes can alter the function of target cells in a real physiological environment.
Extracellular vesicles
(2021)
Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass and damage to the bone tissue’s microarchitecture, leading to increased fracture risk. Several studies have provided evidence for associations between psychosocial stress and osteoporosis through various pathways, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, the sympathetic nervous system, and other endocrine factors. As psychosocial stress provokes oxidative cellular stress with consequences for mitochondrial function and cell signaling (e.g., gene expression, inflammation), it is of interest whether extracellular vesicles (EVs) may be a relevant biomarker in this context or act by transporting substances. EVs are intercellular communicators, transfer substances encapsulated in them, modify the phenotype and function of target cells, mediate cell-cell communication, and, therefore, have critical applications in disease progression and clinical diagnosis and therapy. This review summarizes the characteristics of EVs, their role in stress and osteoporosis, and their benefit as biological markers. We demonstrate that EVs are potential mediators of psychosocial stress and osteoporosis and may be beneficial in innovative research settings.