Extracellular vesicles in organ and systems function in health and disease

This special issue of The Journal of Physiology entitled 'Extracellular vesicles in organ and systems function in health and disease' originated from a focused symposium held at Experimental Biology in April 2021 sponsored by The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society. The original symposium focused on extracellular vesicles (EVs) as targets for cardiovascular (CV) health, examining the role of EVs as couriers of cellular information as well as their therapeutic potential. Contributors provided a range of perspectives on the benefits and limitations of using EVs in biomedical applications. This special issue has widened the scope of the Experimental Biology symposium to move beyond the original CV focus and to cover the role and translational potential of EVs across multiple body systems. Articles include two Symposium Reviews, eight Topical Reviews, six original research papers along with a Journal Club article and a Perspective article. The combination of these contributions from leading experts across the field of EV research provides valuable insight into our current understanding of EVs, and importantly, appraises the potential of EVs for future clinical application.