Overview of extracellular vesicles as biomarkers and therapeutic tools in pediatric diseases: focus on the gut-lung axis

Although anatomically separate, the gut and lungs are interconnected through intricate pathways involving their respective microbiota, supporting the concept of a gut-lung axis. In the pediatric field, devastating intestinal pathologies such as necrotizing enterocolitis and inflammatory bowel diseases mostly affect preterm infants. In parallel, in the lung, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease represent pediatric unmet clinical needs. In this review, we discuss how the extracellular vesicles (EVs), nanoparticles secreted by all cell types, represent a common element in the gut-lung axis. Specifically, EVs play a dual role, serving both as novel disease biomarkers and as promising therapeutic agents.