Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a complex autoimmune disorder that mainly affects children and adolescents. The elevated blood glucose level of patients with T1DM results from absolute insulin deficiency and leads to hyperglycemia and the development of life-threatening diabetic complications. Although great efforts have been made to elucidate the pathogenesis of this disease, the precise underlying mechanisms are still obscure. Emerging evidence indicates that small extracellular vesicles, namely, exosomes, take part in intercellular communication and regulate interorgan crosstalk. More importantly, many findings suggest that exosomes and their cargo are associated with the development of T1DM. Therefore, a deeper understanding of exosomes is beneficial for further elucidating the pathogenic process of T1DM. Exosomes are promising biomarkers for evaluating the risk of developingty T1DM, monitoring the disease state and predicting related complications because their number and composition can reflect the status of their parent cells. Additionally, since exosomes are natural carriers of functional proteins, RNA and DNA, they can be used as therapeutic tools to deliver these molecules and drugs. In this review, we briefly introduce the current understanding of exosomes. Next, we focus on the relationship between exosomes and T1DM from three perspectives, i.e., the pathogenic role of exosomes in T1DM, exosomes as novel biomarkers of T1DM and exosomes as therapeutic tools for T1DM.

1型糖尿病（T1DM）是一种复杂的自身免疫性疾病，主要影响儿童和青少年。T1DM患者的血糖水平升高是由于绝对胰岛素不足引起的，并导致高血糖症和威胁生命的糖尿病并发症的发展。尽管已经做出了很大努力来阐明这种疾病的发病机理，但确切的潜在机制仍不清楚。新兴证据表明，小的细胞外小泡即外泌体参与细胞间的通讯并调节器官间的串扰。更重要的是，许多发现表明外来体及其货物与T1DM的发展有关。因此，更深入地了解外泌体有利于进一步阐明T1DM的致病过程。外来体是有前途的生物标志物，可用于评估发展性T1DM的风险，监测疾病状态并预测相关并发症，因为外来体的数量和组成可以反映其亲代细胞的状态。此外，由于外来体是功能蛋白，RNA和DNA的天然载体，因此它们可以用作治疗工具，以递送这些分子和药物。在本文中，我们简要介绍了外泌体的最新知识。接下来，我们从三个方面关注外泌体与T1DM之间的关系，即外泌体在T1DM中的致病作用，外泌体作为T1DM的新型生物标志物以及外泌体作为T1DM的治疗工具。监测疾病状态并预测相关并发症，因为它们的数量和组成可以反映其亲代细胞的状态。另外，由于外来体是功能蛋白，RNA和DNA的天然载体，因此它们可以用作递送这些分子和药物的治疗工具。在本文中，我们简要介绍了外泌体的最新知识。接下来，我们从三个方面关注外泌体与T1DM之间的关系，即外泌体在T1DM中的致病作用，外泌体作为T1DM的新型生物标志物以及外泌体作为T1DM的治疗工具。监测疾病状态并预测相关并发症，因为它们的数量和组成可以反映其亲代细胞的状态。此外，由于外来体是功能蛋白，RNA和DNA的天然载体，因此它们可以用作治疗工具，以递送这些分子和药物。在本文中，我们简要介绍了外泌体的最新知识。接下来，我们从三个方面关注外泌体与T1DM之间的关系，即外泌体在T1DM中的致病作用，外泌体作为T1DM的新型生物标记以及外泌体作为T1DM的治疗工具。