Exosomal miRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in silicosis-related lung fibrosis

Silicosis, a form of lung fibrosis (LF), remains a major global health concern because there are few effective ways to diagnose or treat it. Due to their potential function as diagnostic markers and modulators of cancer, exosomal miRNAs are notably featured in more recent advancements. Such exosomal miRNAs offer an invasive approach to diagnosing an illness’s early and accurate nature as they are more stable and measurable in biofluids while illustrating novel cellular changes. Their roles point out this capacity to alter specific molecular processes related to the development of silicosis, such as inflammation, fibrosis, and immunomodulation. Hence, it is possible to find therapeutic targets to decrease fibrosis and diagnostic markers to assess the progression of the disease in these molecules. Recent studies indicate they are involved in fibroblast to myofibroblast transition, macrophage activation in silica, and aberrant signalling such as TGF-β and NF-κB. Delivery methods to employ exosomal miRNAs for therapeutic purposes, including replenishment of beneficial miRNAs and targeted change of detrimental ones, are being developed based on these findings. Nevertheless, when these developments apply to these discoveries in clinical practice, questions about factors such as possible scale, standardisation, and targeting services distribution arise. The diagnostic and treatment possibilities of exosomal miRNAs in LF connected to silicosis are investigated in the present study, with characteristics of revolutionary values and gaps filling the current scale of knowledge in the treatment of silicosis and other similar diseases.