TY - JOUR AB - In recent years, research on exosomes and their content has been intensive, which has revealed their important role in cell‑to‑cell communication, and has implicated exosomal biomolecules in a broad spectrum of physiological processes, as well as in the pathogenesis of various diseases. Pregnancy and its normal progression rely highly on the efficient communication between the mother and the fetus, mainly mediated by the placenta. Recent studies have established the placenta as an important source of circulating exosomes and have demonstrated that exosome release into the maternal circulation gradually increases during pregnancy, starting from six weeks of gestation. This orchestrates maternal‑fetal crosstalk, including maternal immune tolerance and pregnancy‑associated metabolic adaptations. Furthermore, an increased number of secreted exosomes, along with altered patterns of exosomal non‑coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially microRNAs and long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs), have been observed in a number of pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes mellitus and preeclampsia. The early detection of exosomes and specific exosomal ncRNAs in various biological fluids during pregnancy highlights them as promising candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of numerous pregnancy disorders in adolescents and adults. The present review aimed to provide insight into the current knowledge regarding the potential, only partially elucidated, role of exosomes and exosomal cargo in the regulation and progression of normal pregnancy, as well as their potential dysregulation and contribution to pathological pregnancy situations. AD - First Department of Pediatrics, Unit of Orofacial Genetics, ‘Aghia Sophia’ Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece University Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health and Precision Medicine, and UNESCO Chair on Adolescent Health Care, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece AU - Maligianni,Ioanna AU - Yapijakis,Christos AU - Nousia,Konstantina AU - Bacopoulou,Flora AU - Chrousos,George,P. DA - 2022/09/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2022.11518 IS - 3 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - pregnancy complications placenta exosomes microRNAs long non‑coding RNAs epigenetics PY - 2022 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 582 ST - Exosomes and exosomal non‑coding RNAs throughout human gestation (Review) T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Exosomes and exosomal non‑coding RNAs throughout human gestation (Review) UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2022.11518 VL - 24 ER -