bims-exocan 2025-07-27 papers

Issue of 2025–07–27
four papers selected by
Muhammad Rizwan, COMSATS University

Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 23. 15(1): 26751

Exosomal tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 may be used as a diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer.

Zhe Zhang, Guanghao Li, Lei Li, Wenxiao Jiang, Shiwen Wang, Na Zhou, Xuan Zhao, Fanfeng Lin, Jie Zhang, Li Xie.

Colorectal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors nowadays, with the highest mortality rate among cancers, and most patients have metastasis when diagnosed. Exosomes contain bioactive molecules such as RNA, which can participate in signal transduction between cells. tRF is a new type of non-coding small RNA, which plays an important role in the progression of cancer. The purpose of this study is to explore the value of exosomal tRF as a biological diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer. Through the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), qNano, and western blot, exosomes obtained from the serum of both healthy people and patients with colorectal cancer were characterized; the expression of tRNA-Gly-5-0007 was validated by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) in the exosome of 172 colorectal cancer patients and 164 healthy people. The diagnostic efficacy of tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 as a diagnostic marker for colorectal cancer was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. We further conducted a preliminary verification of how tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 participates in the malignant phenotype of tumors through transwell experiments and cell adhesion experiments. The TCGA database shows that tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 is an RNA fragment derived from tsRNA-Gly-CCC-2-1. The expression of tsRNA-Gly-CCC-2-1 is down-regulated in colorectal cancer tissues and may be involved in Wnt, mTOR and other signaling pathways. tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 can inhibit the adhesion and motor capacity of colorectal cancer cells. Compared with healthy people, the expression of exosomal tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 was significantly down-regulated in patients with colorectal cancer, especially in patients with early colorectal cancer. The diagnostic efficacy of exosomal tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer was 0.7812, and the diagnostic efficacy for the diagnosis of early colorectal cancer was 0.7726. tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 may affect the adhesion and motor capacity of colorectal cancer cells through Wnt signaling pathway, and then participate in the malignant process of colorectal cancer cells. Moreover, the expression of exosomal tsRNA-Gly-5-0007 is down-regulated in colorectal cancer patients and can be used as a promising biomarker for the biological diagnosis of colorectal cancer.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; Diagnostic marker; Exosome; tRF

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09830-1

Free Radic Biol Med. 2025 Jul 16. pii: S0891-5849(25)00837-8. [Epub ahead of print]239 49-62

Exosomes from tumor-associated neutrophils suppress ferroptosis and confer chemoresistance in gastric cancer via miR-9-3p/ACSL4 axis.

Xiaotong Dong, Jiajin Xu, Jiahui Zhang, Yu Qian, Yanzhen Wang, Baiyuan Fan, Jiayuan Shi, Jing Wang, Min Fu, Xiaoxin Zhang, Runbi Ji, Xinjian Fang, Xu Zhang.

Exosomes are essential mediators of cellular communication and plays important roles in cancer. In addition to exosomes from tumor cells, the recent studies suggest that exosomes from tumor microenvironment (TME) cells are also critically involved in tumor progression. Tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) represent a major component of TME cells and have active roles in tumor progression, while the function of their derived exosomes has not been well understood thus far. In this study, we discovered that exosomes from N2 TANs promoted the resistance of gastric cancer to chemotherapy by suppressing ferroptosis. Exosomes from N2 TANs were enriched in miR-9-3p, which could be transferred to gastric cancer cells to inhibit ACSL4 expression. Exosomes from miR-9-3p depleted N2 TANs showed a decreased effect on suppressing erastin-induced ferroptosis. Exosomes derived from N2 TANs antagonized the ferroptosis-promoting effects of ACSL4 overexpression in gastric cancer cells. Additionally, we found that exosomes from N2 TANs protected gastric cancer cells from ferroptosis induced by oxaliplatin, a commonly used drug for gastric cancer therapy, which could be rescued by targeted inhibition of miR-9-3p both in vitro and in vivo. The upregulation of miR-9-3p in N2 TANs was dependent on the activation of NF-κB pathway by gastric cancer cells-derived exosomes. Moreover, we revealed that the expression level of miR-9-3p was higher in human gastric cancer tissues than normal tissues and was negativity associated with patient survival. Conclusively, we reported a previous unclarified role of N2 TANs in chemoresistance via miR-9-3p-enriched exosomes-mediated downregulation of ASCL4 and the consequent suppression of ferroptosis, which may provide a new biomarker and therapeutic target for gastric cancer.

Keywords: Chemoresistance; Exosomes; Ferroptosis; Gastric cancer; Tumor-associated neutrophils

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2025.07.022

J Natl Cancer Cent. 2025 Jun;5(3): 252-266

The role of exosomes in bladder cancer immunotherapy.

Mohammad Mousaei Ghasroldasht, Piyush K Agarwal.

Bladder cancer remains a significant global health challenge, requiring repeated treatments and surveillance and potentially morbid therapies, particularly in advanced and recurrent stages. Exosomes, small extracellular vesicles central to intercellular communication, have emerged as innovative tools in cancer diagnostics, prognosis, and therapy. Their role in modulating the immune response and the tumor microenvironment makes them particularly attractive for cancer immunotherapy. This review provides a comprehensive overview of exosome biology, with a focus on their role in immune modulation and potential therapeutic applications. We explore the progress and challenges of exosome-based immunotherapy in cancer, followed by a discussion on the current state of bladder cancer immunotherapy. Additionally, we highlight the roles of exosomes in bladder cancer, emphasizing their diagnostic and prognostic applications. Despite promising preclinical studies and a growing number of clinical trials in other cancers, exosome-based therapies remain underexplored in bladder cancer. We discuss the current clinical trials related to exosomes in bladder cancer and propose their potential future role in immunotherapy. Finally, we address the challenges and opportunities in translating exosome-based therapies from bench to bedside, emphasizing the need for further preclinical and clinical investigations. This review emphasized the potential of exosome-based immunotherapy as a transformative approach for bladder cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Bladder cancer; Cancer immunotherapy; Exosome; Exosome based immunotherapy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jncc.2025.04.001

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2025 ;13 1560583

Exosomes and their cargo proteins in diagnosis, process and treatment of gastric cancer.

Wenjing Lu, Minghan Li, DanZeng LaMu, Hui Qian, Zhaofeng Liang, Xuezhong Xu.

Gastric cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of digestive tract. Early diagnosis, process monitoring, and appropriate treatment strategies are crucial to reducing mortality and improving patient outcomes. However, the lack of specific early symptoms and reliable diagnostic markers often leads to delayed diagnosis and suboptimal treatment strategies. Exosomes, as small vesicular structures derived from endosomes, play crucial roles in cell-to-cell communication and have emerged as promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets in various cancers, including gastric cancer. This comprehensive review delves into the significance of exosomes and their cargo proteins, particularly focusing on their applications in the diagnosis, progress and treatment of gastric cancer. Based on this review, we believe that the real-time release characteristics of extracellular vesicle proteins make them an ideal tool for dynamically monitoring gastric cancer progression and treatment response. The potential of extracellular vesicles in "liquid biopsy" can be explored to replace traditional invasive examinations and achieve non-invasive and continuous disease monitoring. In the future, nanotechnology can be combined with artificial intelligence to develop an efficient extracellular vesicle protein capture and analysis platform, in order to enhance diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

Keywords: development; diagnosis; exosomes; gastric cancer; occurrence; proteins; treatment

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2025.1560583