bims-exocan Biomed News
on Exosomes roles in cancer
Issue of 2024–10–20
six papers selected by
Muhammad Rizwan, COMSATS University



  1. Curr Cancer Drug Targets. 2024 Oct 17.
      A ring-stabilized endogenous non-coding RNA is called circular RNA (circRNA). Intercellular communication is mediated by exosomes, and circRNA is enriched and stabilized in exosomes. It has recently been demonstrated that cancer cells and tissues exhibit abnormal expression of exosomal circRNAs. By controlling angiogenesis, metabolism, metastasis, epithe-lial mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor chemoresistance, immune evasion, and cell prolifera-tion, it may also have an impact on the development of different malignancies. Furthermore, ex-osomal circRNAs have strong tissue selectivity, stability, and other qualities that make them useful for diagnostic purposes. Consequently, exosomal circRNAs offer a wide range of poten-tial applications in the therapy of cancer and can be utilized as biomarkers and anti-tumor tar-gets. The features and purposes of circRNAs and exosomes are briefly discussed in this review, which also methodically explains the function and possible mechanism of the function of exo-somal circRNA in the onset of gastric cancer (GC). Furthermore, their clinical uses as targets and biomarkers for gastric cancers are also summarized and discussed in this work.
    Keywords:  Exosomes; biomarkers; circRNA; diagnosis; gastric cancer; tumor targets.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2174/0115680096318527240909082011
  2. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Sep 27. pii: 3298. [Epub ahead of print]16(19):
      Backgroud: Salivary gland tumors (SGTs) are rare and diverse neoplasms, presenting significant challenges in diagnosis and management due to their rarity and complexity. Exosomes, lipid bilayer vesicles secreted by almost all cell types and present in all body fluids, have emerged as crucial intercellular communication agents. They play multifaceted roles in tumor biology, including modulating the tumor microenvironment, promoting metastasis, and influencing immune responses. Results: This review focuses on the role of exosomes in SGT, hypothesizing that novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches can be developed by exploring the mechanisms through which exosomes influence tumor occurrence and progression. By understanding these mechanisms, we can leverage exosomes as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, and target them for therapeutic interventions. The exploration of exosome-mediated pathways contributing to tumor progression and metastasis could lead to more effective treatments, transforming the management of SGT and improving patient outcomes. Ongoing research aims to elucidate the specific cargo and signaling pathways involved in exosome-mediated tumorigenesis and to develop standardized techniques for exosome-based liquid biopsies in clinical settings. Conclusions: Exosome-based liquid biopsies have shown promise as non-invasive, real-time systemic profiling tools for tumor diagnostics and prognosis, offering significant potential for enhancing patient care through precision and personalized medicine. Methods like fluorescence, electrochemical, colorimetric, and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensors, combined with artificial intelligence, improve exosome analysis, providing rapid, precise, and clinically valid cancer diagnostics for difficult-to-diagnose cancers.
    Keywords:  biosensor; exosomes; liquid biopsy; saliva; saliva-derived exosomes; salivary gland tumors; tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers16193298
  3. Mol Biol Rep. 2024 Oct 17. 51(1): 1058
       BACKGROUND: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) exhibits a lower survival rate in comparison to other BC subtypes. Utilizing dendritic cell (DC) vaccines as a form of immunotherapy is becoming a promising new approach to cancer treatment. However, inadequate immunogenicity of tumor antigens leads to unsatisfactory effectiveness of the DC vaccines. Exosomes are the basis for the latest improvements in tumor immunotherapy. This study examined whether TNBC-derived exosomes elicit immunogenicity on the maturation and function of monocyte-derived DCs and the impact of the exosome-treated monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) on T cell differentiation.
    METHODS: exosomes were isolated from MDA-MB-231 TNBC cancer cells and characterized. Monocytes were separated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and differentiated into DCs. Then, monocyte-derived DCs were treated with TNBC-derived exosomes. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of the genes and cytokines involved in DC maturation and function were examined using qRT-PCR and ELISA assays. We also cocultured TNBC-derived exosome-treated moDCs with T cells and investigated the role of the treatment in T cell differentiation by evaluating the expression of some related genes by qRT-PCR. The concentration of the cytokines secreted from T cells cocultured with exosome-treated moDCs was quantified by the ELISA assays.
    RESULTS: Our findings showed that TNBC-derived exosomes induce immunogenicity by enhancing moDCs' maturation and function. In addition, exosome-treated moDCs promote cocultured T-cell expansion by inducing TH1 differentiation through increasing cytokine production.
    CONCLUSION: TNBC-derived exosomes could improve vaccine-elicited immunotherapy by inducing an immunogenic response and enhancing the effectiveness of the DC vaccines. However, this needs to be investigated further in future studies.
    Keywords:  DC-based cell therapies; Dendritic cell; Immunotherapy; TNBC-derived exosomes; Tumor-derived exosomes
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-10007-8
  4. Anal Cell Pathol (Amst). 2024 ;2024 1608582
      Tumor microenvironment (TME) is essential for the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Exosomes participate in constructing TME by passing biological information, but the regulatory effect of PDL1 in exosomes on anticancer activity of CD8+ T cells in HCC still needs to be further explored. In this study, high level of PDL1 was found in plasma exosomes of HCC patients, which turned out to be significantly associated with the increased number of tumor nodules, the upregulated level of serum AFP, the raised tendency of TNM stage, and the poor prognosis of HCC. The expression of CD8 may be inhibited in HCC that is characterized with high level of PDL1, and the protein level of exosomal PDL1 was determined by intracellular PDL1 abundance. High level of exosomal PDL1 inhibited the proliferation and activation of CD8+ T cells, but exhibited limited effect on the proliferation of hepatic cancer cells. Moreover, the growth of tumors formed by hepatic cancer cells Hepa1-6 in C57L mice was significantly promoted by the exosomal PDL1, which might be caused by the inhibitory effect of exosomal PDL1 on CD8+ T cells. Thus, exosomal PDL1 promotes the development and progression of HCC through inhibiting the anticancer activity of CD8+ T cells. This study provides sights for understanding the oncogenic role of PDL1 and a reasonable explanation for the low efficacy of anti-PD1/PDL1 immunotherapies in HCC.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/1608582
  5. Turk J Gastroenterol. 2024 Aug 05. 35(10): 755-762
      Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-based therapies are promising therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment, because of their strong immunomodulatory and tissue regeneration abilities. In case of colorectal cancer (CRC), MSCs indicate a double-edged sword activity. Some reports declared the inhibitory effects of MSCs on the proliferation, migration, and infiltration of cancer cells to suppress the CRC initiation and development, whereas others showed the tumor-promoter impacts of MSCs on the progression of CRC. Recent investigations have revealed that exosomal microRNAs (Exo-miRs) derived from MSCs (MSCs-Exo-miRs) are attributed to such paradoxical effect. Thus, the current review aimed to seek the role of MSCs-Exo-miRs in CRC progression and their therapeutic potential for the CRC treatment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.5152/tjg.2024.23541
  6. Med Oncol. 2024 Oct 14. 41(11): 265
      MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are conserved non-protein-coding RNAs that are naturally present in organisms and can control gene expression by suppressing the translation of mRNA or causing the degradation of mRNA. MicroRNAs are highly concentrated in the PI3K/AKT pathway, and abnormal activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway plays a role in cancer progression. The AKT/PI3K pathway is critical for cellular functions and can be stimulated by cytokines and in normal situations. It is involved in regulating various intracellular signal transduction, including development, differentiation, transcriptional regulation, protein, and synthesis. There is a growing body of evidence indicating that miRNAs, which are abundant in exosomes released by different cells, can control cellular biological activities via modulating the PI3K/AKT pathway, hence influencing cancer progression and drug resistance. This article provides an overview of the latest research progress regarding the function and medical use of the PI3K/AKT pathway and exosomal miRNA/AKT/PI3K axis in the behaviors of cancer cells.
    Keywords:  AKT; Cancer; Exosome; PI3K; miRNA
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-024-02529-9