Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were shown to favour the recovery of acute and chronic kidney injury in several experimental models. However, only few MSCs permanently engraft  the kidney and differentiate into renal resident cells, and the beneficial effect observed is ascribed to the release of paracrine factors. Recently, it has been found that exosomes/microvesicles released from MSCs retain most of their properties. These extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain selected patterns of proteins, mRNA, long-non coding RNA and microRNA characteristic of MSCs. The transfer of these functional transcripts to injured cells changes their phenotype and activates self-regenerative programs. Therefore,  EVs released from stem cells, by acting as a vehicle of information, emerge as integral components of the paracrine network of factors involved in stem cell action.