REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Alloimmunity and Transplantation
Exosomes in Organ Transplantation: Roles in Immunomodulation, Ferroptosis and Mitophagy
- YJ
Yunuo Jiang
- PL
Pengyu Liu
Southeast University, Nanjing, China
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Abstract
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles (EVs) with a lipid bilayer structure, ranging from 30 to 150 nm in diameter, that are secreted by cells. As key carriers of biological information, they play pivotal roles in diverse physiological and pathological processes, such as immune response, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and inflammation. Advancing research has revealed that exosomes transport immunomodulatory cargo relevant to transplantation, demonstrating their capacity to directly modulate immune rejection and tolerance, beyond merely serving as biomarkers for assessing graft function and acceptance. Consequently, exosomes present significant therapeutic potential in transplant immunology. Furthermore, ferroptosis and mitophagy, two burgeoning fields of research, are increasingly recognized to interact closely with exosomes and participate in coordinated pathophysiological processes. This review aims to summarize the characteristics of exosomes and elaborate on their roles, alongside ferroptosis and mitophagy, in organ transplantation, with a focus on their collective therapeutic implications.
Summary
Keywords
Exosomes, ferroptosis, Immunoinflammatory response, mitophagy, Transplantation
Received
15 October 2025
Accepted
03 April 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Jiang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Pengyu Liu
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.