Therapeutic applications of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in pain management: A narrative review of emerging evidence and future directions
Sara Akhtar Khan, Prakash Gangadaran, Prachi Tiwari, Ramya Lakshmi Rajendran, Azfar Jamal, Shaheenkousar H Hattiwale, Kushi Anand, Saurabh Kumar Jha, Chae Moon Hong, Byeong-Cheol Ahn, Suhel Parvez
Sara Akhtar Khan, Department of Toxicology, School of Chemical and Life Sciences, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, Delhi, India
Prakash Gangadaran, Ramya Lakshmi Rajendran, Chae Moon Hong, Byeong-Cheol Ahn, Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, South Korea
Prakash Gangadaran, Ramya Lakshmi Rajendran, Chae Moon Hong, Byeong-Cheol Ahn, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, South Korea
Prachi Tiwari, Department of Physiotherapy, School of Nursing Sciences and Allied Health, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, Delhi, India
Ramya Lakshmi Rajendran, Byeong-Cheol Ahn, BK21 FOUR KNU Convergence Educational Program of Biomedical Sciences for Creative Future Talents, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, South Korea
Azfar Jamal, Department of Biology, College of Science Al-Zulfi, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Shaheenkousar H Hattiwale, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
Kushi Anand, Department of Life Sciences, School of Biological and Forensic Science, Kristu Jayanti (Deemed to be University), Bangalore 560077, Karnātaka, India
Saurabh Kumar Jha, Department of Zoology, Kalindi College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110008, India
Saurabh Kumar Jha, Department of Biotechnology Engineering and Food Technology, Chandigarh University, Mohali 140413, Punjab, India
Chae Moon Hong, Byeong-Cheol Ahn, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu 41944, South Korea
Suhel Parvez, Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi 110062, Delhi, India
Author contributions: Khan SA and Gangadaran P contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-first authors; Khan SA, Gangadaran P, Ahn BC, and Parvez S contributed to the conceptualization; Khan SA, Gangadaran P, Tiwari P, Rajendran RL, Jamal A, Hattiwale SH, Anand K, and Jha SK contributed to the methodology, investigation, and writing - original draft; Tiwari P, Rajendran RL, Jamal A, and Anand K contributed to data curation; Khan SA, Gangadaran P, Tiwari P, and Jha SK contributed to formal analysis; Khan SA, Gangadaran P, Tiwari P, Rajendran RL, Jamal A, Hattiwale SH, Anand K, Jha SK, Hong CM, Ahn BC, and Parvez S contributed to writing - review and editing; Ahn BC and Parvez S contributed to supervision and project administration, they contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-corresponding authors. Gangadaran P contributed to funding acquisition.
Supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Basic Science Research Program, No. NRF-2022R1I1A1A01068652.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Byeong-Cheol Ahn, MD, PhD, Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 680 Gukchaebosang-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu 41944, South Korea.
abc2000@knu.ac.kr
Received: November 5, 2025
Revised: November 28, 2025
Accepted: January 15, 2026
Published online: February 26, 2026
Processing time: 101 Days and 23.9 Hours
