A curated collection of the published science behind cell-free regenerative biology, extracellular vesicles, the secretome, and the conditions where the field is most active.
This library brings the published science behind cell-free regenerative medicine into one place. It draws together three sources: the research collection held in the Wellbeing archive, the curated reading list maintained by Wellbeing, and the references that underpin the CFT Advantage white papers. Together they form a single, navigable evidence base.
Every paper is grouped by field of research and carries a working link that opens the published article at its journal, an open-access source, or a literature search where no direct link exists. Use the search box to find a paper by title, author, or topic, filter by field, or show only the key papers marked with a star.
What extracellular vesicles and exosomes are, how cells make them, and how they carry signals.
Reviews how donor cell type, metabolic cues and physiological state shape extracellular vesicle formation and selective cargo loading.
Examines how extracellular vesicles mediate intercellular communication and the experimental approaches needed to establish causal signalling roles.
Reviews the cell biology of how extracellular vesicles target recipient cells, are internalised, and deliver functional cargo intracellularly.
Uses high-resolution fractionation to redefine the protein, RNA and DNA constituents genuinely carried by exosomes versus co-isolated material.
Reviews the expanding diversity of extracellular carriers, including exosomes, non-vesicular nanoparticles, exomeres and supermeres.
Examines the intrinsic and environmental factors that determine extracellular vesicle signalling, including RNA cargo and functional transfer.
A broad survey of what extracellular vesicles are and what they do in the body.
Exosomes as adaptable delivery systems that can be tuned for different therapeutic jobs.
A foundational review defining the families of extracellular vesicles.
A concise primer on how vesicles act as the body's master messengers between cells.
The current international reporting standard for extracellular vesicle research.
The international standard defining how extracellular vesicle research is conducted and reported.
Reviews which molecules inside stem-cell vesicles drive the repair of tissue.
A canonical review of how cells produce and release extracellular vesicles.
A major modern review of exosome biology and its medical potential.
A readable history of how extracellular vesicles became a major field of biology.
How cells build and release exosomes.
A reference review of exosome biology and function.
The properties and biological roles of exosomes released by mesenchymal stem cells.
Shows exosomes help cells stay healthy by clearing out harmful DNA.
Explains the different subtypes of extracellular vesicle and how to tell them apart.
Tracks where vesicles travel in the body depending on their source and delivery.
On getting the terminology of the vesicle field right.
An editorial on making sure vesicle-based treatments reach the right tissue.
Reviews the regenerative potential of the nanovesicles stem cells secrete.
The microRNA cargo inside vesicles and how it influences how tissues recover.
Evidence that stem-cell microparticles can carry the therapeutic benefit of the cells.
How the tiny vesicles cells shed carry proteins and RNA that guide regeneration.
The landmark paper that established mesenchymal stem cells as a research field.
A practical overview of what EVs are and how they are isolated and analysed.
Compares the methods used to size and count extracellular vesicles.
How vesicles are released and taken up to carry messages between cells.
The secretome, conditioned media, and the case for cell-free regenerative medicine.
Reviews the composition, mechanisms and translational status of the mesenchymal stem cell secretome as a cell-free regenerative strategy.
Critically analyses secretomes from different cell sources and their roles in repair across multiple tissue types.
Summarises ongoing and completed clinical studies using mesenchymal cell-derived exosomes and their paracrine basis of action.
Systematically reviews extracellular vesicles derived from autologous platelet-rich plasma and their characterisation and regenerative roles.
Characterises a blood-cell secretome, the closest published analogue to CFT.
A focused review of stem-cell exosomes as a route to cell-free treatment.
The anchor review framing the secretome as a cell-free therapeutic strategy.
The foundational paper showing stem cells work largely through secreted signals.
Reviews the repair-promoting factors in the secretome of white blood cells.
A Phase 1 human trial of an autologous blood-cell secretome, a CFT-class product.
Shows a blood-cell secretome protects heart muscle after a heart attack.
An early framing of microvesicles as a cell-free route to regenerative medicine.
Maps the secretome and frames it as a paradigm shift toward cell-free repair.
A genome-wide map of every protein the human body is built to secrete.
An established autologous blood-derived therapy, a conceptual cousin of CFT.
Argues the exosome, not the whole cell, is the safer active ingredient.
An overview of why stem-cell vesicles are a cell-free frontier in regenerative medicine.
A broad review of mesenchymal stem cells and the therapeutic factors they produce.
Looks ahead at how vesicles from accessible tissue sources could be used.
Surveys the methods used to collect the fluid stem cells release, and its potential.
A thorough review of stem-cell vesicles as carriers of regenerative instructions.
How exosomes can be developed into a practical cell-free treatment.
Tests a clinically-compliant secretome for cartilage repair.
Safety and toxicology testing of a cell-free blood-mononuclear-cell secretome.
Paracrine signalling and vesicle biology in the heart and blood vessels.
Review of how extracellular vesicles carry microRNAs, proteins and lipids in cardiovascular biology and their role as a cell-free therapeutic strategy.
Large-animal study showing cell-derived exosomes alone reduced scar size and improved heart function after myocardial infarction in pigs.
Review of how MSC-derived extracellular vesicles support angiogenesis and act on vascular conditions such as atherosclerosis and vascular calcification.
Review covering MSC extracellular vesicles in tissue repair across heart and kidney injury and inflammatory conditions.
A landmark study showing a purified exosome can reduce heart damage.
A detailed review of the secretome as a route to cardiovascular repair.
How exosome signalling contributes to both cardiovascular damage and recovery.
Factors released by bone-marrow stem cells can support a failing heart.
Weighs exosomes as a lower-risk alternative to whole-cell cardiac therapy.
Reviews evidence that stem cells help the heart by secreting exosomes.
Surveys where mesenchymal stem cell therapy stands for heart failure.
A foundational review of how the body grows new blood vessels.
Shows cultured-cell fluid can match cell transplants at restoring blood flow.
Single-cell evidence that transplanted stem cells act through secreted signals.
How stem cells aid the heart through secreted signals, not by becoming heart cells.
How small RNA molecules travel between heart cells to coordinate repair.
How microvesicles carry out much of the repair once attributed to stem cells.
Reviews how new blood-vessel growth can be encouraged in poorly-perfused tissue.
Vesicle and secretome research across the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system.
International consensus guidelines defining how extracellular vesicles should be produced, isolated, characterised and reported across research and translational studies.
A scalable mesenchymal cell extracellular-vesicle product improved motor function, neural connectivity and tissue outcomes in rodent and primate stroke models.
Pooled analysis of preclinical studies finding stem-cell extracellular vesicles reduced infarct volume and improved neurological scores in rodent ischemic stroke.
Intravenous adipose-derived mesenchymal cell exosomes reduced inflammatory responses and improved locomotor recovery in a rat spinal cord injury model.
Exosomes from mesenchymal-derived Schwann cell-like cells enhanced axonal regrowth, myelination and motor recovery in a rat sciatic nerve model.
Mesenchymal cell exosomes delivering a specific microRNA reduced microglial inflammation, infarct volume and behavioural deficits in an ischemic stroke model.
The case for using the secretome, not cells, for neurodegenerative conditions.
Shows the medium fat-derived stem cells are grown in can protect nerve cells.
Stem-cell exosomes help retinal nerve cells survive after optic-nerve injury.
A landmark study showing exosomes can carry a payload into the brain.
How vesicles can be used to deliver treatment to a chosen tissue.
How vesicles in the blood can reflect what is happening in the brain.
Measures how vesicle-carried inflammatory signals change after a sport concussion.
How vesicles carry information between cells throughout the nervous system.
Reviews vesicles as versatile messengers that maintain and repair the nervous system.
Identifies one secreted protein as a key driver of recovery in MS models.
Injected stem cells calm a model of MS even with few cells reaching the brain.
Tests delivering stem-cell vesicles through the nose in an Alzheimer's model.
How stem-cell exosomes influence recovery after traumatic brain injury.
A recent review of stem-cell vesicles for conditions of the nervous system.
An early clinical study of stem cells and conditioned media in people with MS.
Summarises the ways mesenchymal stem cells can shield nerve cells from damage.
Finds mesenchymal stem cells lower oxidative stress in nervous-system inflammation.
How vesicles let nerve cells communicate, and how that could be used therapeutically.
Reviews how vesicles reach the brain past its protective barrier.
Explains why reaching the brain is the central challenge in neurological treatment.
Shows blood-derived vesicles can move into the brain.
Measures how extracellular vesicles cross into the brain.
Joints, cartilage, bone, tendon, and skeletal muscle.
Review of how mesenchymal cell soluble factors and extracellular vesicles support myofiber regeneration and myogenesis in skeletal muscle.
Mesenchymal cell extracellular vesicles promoted muscle regeneration by triggering creatine release from myoblasts through a defined channel mechanism.
Review of how mesenchymal cell exosomes modulate inflammation and macrophage polarisation to support tendon healing in tendinopathy models.
Scaffold-delivered tendon progenitor exosomes improved functional and structural tendon-to-bone healing after rotator cuff repair in rats.
Preclinical work plus a randomised, double-blind, ascending-dose human study evaluating mesenchymal cell exosome injection in knee osteoarthritis.
Synthesis of 28 preclinical studies showing mesenchymal cell exosomes consistently improved cartilage repair across validated histological scores.
Review positioning mesenchymal cell small extracellular vesicles as a cell-free alternative for cartilage repair while assessing remaining hurdles.
Comprehensive review of extracellular vesicle roles in musculoskeletal disease progression and their potential as biomarkers and therapies.
Characterises a clinically-compliant vesicle fraction that speeds muscle regeneration through new blood-vessel growth.
Shows the vesicles and soluble proteins in the secretome work together to regrow muscle.
Shows adult stem cells can be efficiently coaxed into muscle cells.
How exosome signalling reshapes the joint environment in osteoarthritis.
Frames stem-cell exosomes as a cell-free therapy for cartilage repair.
Reviews stem-cell and bone-marrow approaches across musculoskeletal conditions.
Immune-cell vesicles can help the body grow new bone on a collagen scaffold.
Reviews stem-cell exosomes as an emerging approach to osteoarthritis.
Stem cells release factors that calm inflammation in osteoarthritic joint tissue.
A concise review of mesenchymal stem cells across the musculoskeletal tissues.
How mesenchymal stem cells behave in arthritic joints and what it means for repair.
The role of the secretome and exosomes in stem-cell approaches to rheumatic disease.
The evidence for stem-cell and vesicle approaches to cartilage repair in the knee.
Blocking a muscle-limiting protein increases muscle mass in aged mice.
Using a person's own fat-derived stem cells to repair a damaged knee meniscus.
How diet rebalances the processes that keep muscle healthy.
Fat-derived stem cells slow osteoarthritis mainly through secreted signals.
Hepatic biology, conditioned-media, and organ-regeneration research.
Review of how MSC-derived exosomes participate in liver regeneration and repair across fibrosis, failure and oxidative-stress injury models.
Review framing MSC-derived extracellular vesicles as a cell-free approach to immunomodulation in acute liver inflammation, replicating effects of parent cells.
Review of extracellular vesicles from MSCs, kidney and liver sources as a cell-free therapy in experimental acute kidney injury.
Review of mechanisms by which MSC-derived extracellular vesicles support alveolar repair and immunomodulation in acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Cord-derived exosomes reduce chemical liver injury by lowering oxidative stress.
How exosomes produced in the liver shape its healthy and diseased biology.
A perspective on where stem-cell therapy stands for liver cirrhosis.
Purified exosomes support liver regrowth after drug-induced injury.
Secreted stem-cell molecules can reduce liver-cell death and prompt regeneration.
An early study showing secreted stem-cell molecules can reverse severe liver failure.
Summarises progress in applying stem-cell approaches to acute liver failure.
The medium stem cells are grown in can protect liver cells after acute injury.
A foundational review of how the liver regenerates and where stem cells fit in.
Tests whether proteins from cord blood plasma can help in acute liver failure.
Immune signalling, inflammation, skin, and wound repair.
Review of how mesenchymal-cell-derived vesicles modulate immune cells and support tissue regeneration as a cell-free option.
Survey of vesicle-based approaches for immune modulation and anti-inflammatory effects across inflammatory conditions.
Randomised controlled trial applying cell-free exosomes topically alongside standard care for chronic foot wound healing.
Preclinical study delivering cell-free exosomes via a patch to support tendon-to-bone repair in degenerative rotator cuff tears.
How stem-cell vesicles can dial the immune system up or down.
Shows donor-mismatched vesicles provoke a stronger immune response.
Reviews cell and vesicle therapies for respiratory viral infection.
Large-scale evidence of why donor matching matters, supporting autologous use.
Younger-source cells produce exosomes more efficiently.
An early clinical report of an exosome treatment for severe COVID-19.
Exosomes from umbilical cord tissue speed up skin wound healing.
How immune cells switch between inflammatory and repair-promoting states.
A recent review of when and why extracellular vesicles trigger an immune response.
A multi-expert review of how mesenchymal stem cells influence immune responses.
An early clinical report of stem-cell therapy for severe COVID-19.
Stem-cell exosomes for calming the immune system and regenerating skin.
The early case for using stem cells and exosomes to calm the COVID-19 immune response.
Shows the secretome differs with the donor's tissue source and age.
Shows what stem cells secrete varies from donor to donor.
Examines how stable the vesicle cargo in healthy blood is over time.
Reviews how stem-cell vesicles contribute to skin healing and regeneration.
Shows donor-derived exosomes can be recognised by the immune system.
An authoritative review of how vesicles coordinate immune activity.
An investigation into a serious risk of donor blood products.
Documents a risk of donor blood products, supporting an autologous approach.
How donor vesicles can trigger an immune reaction after transplantation.
Identifies VEGF as a key factor in stem-cell vesicles that helps repair lung tissue.
A foundational review of how the body repairs wounds.
Systemic factors, rejuvenation, frailty, and the biology of ageing.
Peer-reviewed single-arm pilot of a 17-week multi-modal protocol combining lifestyle, supplements and two autologous conditioned-media infusions; PhenoAge fell to 5.8 years below chronological age and an epigenetic clock to 4.1 years, with no adverse events.
Study showing vesicles isolated from young plasma improve physiology in aged mice partly via mitochondrial energy pathways.
Treating aged mice with young-donor cell-free vesicles improved physical function and lowered epigenetic-age and senescence markers.
Identifies platelet factor 4 among blood-borne factors that support cognitive function in young and aged mice.
Exercise-induced platelet factor 4 promotes new neuron formation and improves cognition in aged mice.
Review mapping how extracellular vesicles intersect with each hallmark of ageing, both aggravating and mitigating them.
Review of circulating plasma vesicles linked to immune function and their changing roles across healthy ageing.
The field-defining review of the biological processes that drive ageing.
Shows plasma proteins can restore brain function in aged animals.
The landmark study showing blood-borne factors can rejuvenate ageing tissue.
Shows factors circulating in the blood drive features of brain ageing.
A cell-by-cell map of how tissues change with age.
An early-phase trial of stem cell infusions for age-related frailty.
A Phase II trial of stem cell therapy for age-related frailty.
The double role of vesicles in both driving ageing and supporting rejuvenation.
Identifies a blood factor that can reverse age-related changes in the heart.
How chronic low-grade inflammation drives the diseases of ageing.
Recent evidence that a youthful blood environment can extend healthy lifespan.
Reviews the research showing blood-borne factors can rejuvenate ageing tissue.
Whether mesenchymal stem cells can help refresh an ageing immune system.
Shows a circulating factor can restore ageing muscle.
A review of worn-out cells and their role in ageing.
Young blood factors restore blood vessels and nerve growth in the aged brain.
Platelet-rich plasma and other blood-derived therapies CFT is measured against.
Pooled randomised-trial analysis comparing autologous platelet-rich plasma with hyaluronic acid injections for knee osteoarthritis.
Network-style meta-analysis ranking platelet-rich plasma against other nonsurgical injection therapies for knee osteoarthritis.
Meta-analysis finding platelet-rich plasma effects on knee osteoarthritis scale with platelet concentration of the preparation.
Systematic review of randomised trials evaluating autologous conditioned serum injections for osteoarthritis outcomes.
Preclinical work using cell-free vesicles isolated from platelet-rich plasma to support cartilage defect repair on a scaffold.
Reviews the challenge of delivering growth factors as a treatment.
Shows engineered stem-cell exosomes can boost cartilage repair.
A controlled trial weighing platelet-rich plasma against a standard injection.
A key review of platelet-rich plasma for joint pain and inflammation.
Reviews where platelet-rich plasma helps in tendon problems.
An updated review of how platelet-rich plasma works and where it is used.
A scoping review of how platelet-rich plasma is prepared and given.
Producing, measuring, banking, and translating cell-free preparations to clinical standards.
Framework for designing potency assays that link a measurable vesicle attribute to the intended biological activity of EV preparations.
Comparison of buffer formulations and temperatures showing a PBS-albumin-trehalose buffer preserves vesicle integrity through storage and freeze-thaw.
Systematic assessment of how freezing, freeze-thaw cycles and storage strategies affect extracellular vesicle recovery and properties.
Statistical review of registered mesenchymal cell-derived vesicle clinical trials examining dose, administration route and study design trends.
Pools the human trial evidence on the safety and efficacy of EV-based therapy.
The international EV society's consensus on moving vesicle therapies into trials.
Shows a blood-cell secretome can be produced reproducibly to pharmaceutical-grade standards.
Shows why the age of a cell source matters for cell-based therapies.
Shows biological material can stay viable after very long-term banking.
Compares culture supplements used in producing stem-cell preparations.
The standard definition of what counts as a mesenchymal stromal cell.
An established use of a patient's own banked biological material.
The historic paper that founded modern cryopreservation.
A historic cryopreservation paper underpinning biological banking.
A reference review of how biological material is safely frozen and stored.
A practical guide to the laboratory methods used to measure and verify vesicles.
Published evidence of harm from cell-based products, the risks that a cell-free approach is designed to avoid.
Survey finding 1,480 U.S. businesses operating 2,754 clinics marketing unapproved stem cell interventions without FDA approval.
Analysis documenting hundreds of harm cases from unapproved regenerative interventions and recommending stronger direct-to-consumer regulation.
Opinion piece arguing that widespread unproven and unapproved stem cell offerings require stronger FDA oversight to protect patients.
Literature review of stem cell tourism documenting complications including infection, rejection and tumour formation from unproven treatments abroad.
Systematic review of 48 studies and 1,924 patients reporting adverse-event rates following stem cell injections for knee osteoarthritis.
Pools the reported harms from unproven cell-based treatments.
Abnormal tissue growth following an unproven stem-cell procedure.
FDA leadership on regulating regenerative medicine responsibly.
FDA leadership on telling genuine cell therapy from unproven offerings.
A documented tumour caused by transplanted donor cells.
A spinal growth caused by an unregulated stem-cell procedure.
Documents infections traced to contaminated cell-based products.
A systematic look at the risks inherent in cell-based therapies.
Maps the largely unregulated direct-to-consumer stem-cell market.
Documents serious harm from an unproven cell-based eye treatment.
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