scholarly journals Monitoring Therapy Efficiency in Cancer through Extracellular Vesicles

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Stevic ◽  
Gustav Buescher ◽  
Franz Lennard Ricklefs

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous group of membrane-enclosed vesicles made of a phospholipid bilayer and are secreted by all cell types. EVs are present in a variety of body fluids containing proteins, DNA, RNA species, and lipids, and play an important role in cell- to-cell communication and are worth being considered as biomarkers for both early diagnosis of cancer patients and real-time monitoring of treatment response. Recently, emerging evidence verified EVs to have crucial roles in cancer progression and metastasis and a great potential in therapeutic applications. In this review, we discuss the potential of EVs in monitoring the efficacy of cancer therapies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Burgio ◽  
Leila Noori ◽  
Antonella Marino Gammazza ◽  
Claudia Campanella ◽  
Mariantonia Logozzi ◽  
...  

Research for the most selective drug delivery to tumors represents a fascinating key target in science. Alongside the artificial delivery systems identified in the last decades (e.g., liposomes), a family of natural extracellular vesicles (EVs) has gained increasing focus for their potential use in delivering anticancer compounds. EVs are released by all cell types to mediate cell-to-cell communication both at the paracrine and the systemic levels, suggesting a role for them as an ideal nano-delivery system. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) stands out among currently untreatable tumors, also due to the difficulties in achieving an early diagnosis. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment of MPM are both unmet clinical needs. This review looks at indirect and direct evidence that EVs may represent both a new tool for allowing an early diagnosis of MPM and a potential new delivery system for more efficient therapeutic strategies. Since MPM is a relatively rare malignant tumor and preclinical MPM models developed to date are very few and not reliable, this review will report data obtained in other tumor types, suggesting the potential use of EVs in mesothelioma patients as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Li ◽  
Adilson Fonseca Teixeira ◽  
Hong-Jian Zhu ◽  
Peter ten Dijke

AbstractTo identify novel cancer therapies, the tumor microenvironment (TME) has received a lot of attention in recent years in particular with the advent of clinical successes achieved by targeting immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The TME consists of multiple cell types that are embedded in the extracellular matrix (ECM), including immune cells, endothelial cells and cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which communicate with cancer cells and each other during tumor progression. CAFs are a dominant and heterogeneous cell type within the TME with a pivotal role in controlling cancer cell invasion and metastasis, immune evasion, angiogenesis and chemotherapy resistance. CAFs mediate their effects in part by remodeling the ECM and by secreting soluble factors and extracellular vesicles. Exosomes are a subtype of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which contain various biomolecules such as nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins. The biomolecules in exosomes can be transmitted from one to another cell, and thereby affect the behavior of the receiving cell. As exosomes are also present in circulation, their contents can also be explored as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients. In this review, we concentrate on the role of CAFs-derived exosomes in the communication between CAFs and cancer cells and other cells of the TME. First, we introduce the multiple roles of CAFs in tumorigenesis. Thereafter, we discuss the ways CAFs communicate with cancer cells and interplay with other cells of the TME, and focus in particular on the role of exosomes. Then, we elaborate on the mechanisms by which CAFs-derived exosomes contribute to cancer progression, as well as and the clinical impact of exosomes. We conclude by discussing aspects of exosomes that deserve further investigation, including emerging insights into making treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitor blockade more efficient.


The Analyst ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Yifu Li ◽  
Zhongchao Tan

Circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis as a liquid biopsy can be used for early diagnosis of cancer, evaluate cancer progression, and assess treatment efficacy. Enrichment of CTC from patient blood...


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenyuan Zhao ◽  
Yuanqi Liu ◽  
Chunfang Zhang ◽  
Chaojun Duan

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are not transcriptional noise, as previously understood, but are currently considered to be multifunctional. Exosomes are derived from the internal multivesicular compartment and are extracellular vesicles (EVs) with diameters of 30–100 nm. Exosomes play significant roles in the intercellular exchange of information and material. Exosomal lncRNAs may be promising biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and potential targets for cancer therapies, since they are increasingly understood to be involved in tumorigenesis, tumor angiogenesis, and chemoresistance. This review mainly focuses on the roles of emerging exosomal lncRNAs in cancer. In addition, the biogenesis of exosomes, the functions of lncRNAs, and the mechanisms of lncRNAs in exosome-mediated cell-cell communication are also summarized.


2017 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 461a ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Cheol Kim ◽  
Navneet Dogra ◽  
Benjamin H. Wunsch ◽  
Joshua T. Smith ◽  
Stacey M. Gifford ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Ma ◽  
Shiyan Dong ◽  
Xuefeng Li ◽  
Betty Y. S. Kim ◽  
Zhaogang Yang ◽  
...  

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membrane particles that represent an endogenous mechanism for cell-to-cell communication. Since discovering that EVs have multiple advantages over currently available delivery platforms, such as their ability to overcome natural barriers, intrinsic cell targeting properties, and circulation stability, the potential use of EVs as therapeutic nanoplatforms for cancer studies has attracted considerable interest. To fully elucidate EVs’ therapeutic function for treating cancer, all current knowledge about cellular uptake and trafficking of EVs will be initially reviewed. In order to further improve EVs as anticancer therapeutics, engineering strategies for cancer therapy have been widely explored in the last decade, along with other cancer therapies. However, therapeutic applications of EVs as drug delivery systems have been limited because of immunological concerns, lack of methods to scale EV production, and efficient drug loading. We will review and discuss recent progress and remaining challenges in developing EVs as a delivery nanoplatform for cancer therapy.


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