Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, imposing a substantial global health and economic burden. Despite significant advances in pharmacological and interventional therapies, critical gaps persist in early detection, tissue repair, and long-term disease management: particularly in conditions such as heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiac fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, have emerged as key mediators of intercellular communication in the cardiovascular system. By trafficking bioactive cargo, including coding and non-coding RNAs (such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs), proteins, and lipids, EVs regulate fundamental processes such as cardiac remodeling, vascular inflammation, smooth muscle cell function, and myocardial tissue repair. These properties position EVs at the intersection of cardiovascular pathophysiology and pharmacology, opening new avenues for therapeutic delivery, target identification, and disease monitoring.
This Research Topic brings together cutting-edge original research and comprehensive reviews at the frontier of EV biology and cardiovascular pharmacology. We welcome contributions covering:
• Molecular mechanisms governing EV biogenesis, cargo loading, and uptake in cardiac and smooth muscle cell contexts • Coding (mRNA) and Non-coding RNA cargo (miRNAs, lncRNAs, tRNA fragments) as pharmacological targets or therapeutic tools in CVD • EV engineering strategies for targeted cardiac drug delivery and vascular intervention • EV-based liquid biopsy approaches for cardiovascular biomarker discovery and disease monitoring • Pharmacological modulation of EV release, uptake, and function • Epigenetic regulation of EV-mediated cardiovascular signaling • Translational models and clinical development pipelines for EV-based cardiovascular therapeutics • By integrating molecular insights with pharmacological innovation, this Research Topic aims to accelerate the translation of EV biology from bench discovery to clinical application in cardiovascular medicine.
Article types and fees
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Brief Research Report
Case Report
Editorial
FAIR² Data
General Commentary
Hypothesis and Theory
Methods
Mini Review
Opinion
Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.
Article types
This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:
Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
