Tiny Actors in the Big Cellular World: Extracellular Vesicles Playing Critical Roles in Cancer

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Authors

JURJ A. POP-BICA C. SLABÝ Ondřej STEFAN C. D. CHO W. C. KORBAN S. S. BERINDAN-NEAGOE I.

Year of publication 2020
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source International Journal of Molecular Sciences
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Medicine

Citation
Web https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/20/7688
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21207688
Keywords extracellular vesicles; cancer; therapeutic agents; cell-to-cell communication
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Description Communications among cells can be achieved either via direct interactions or via secretion of soluble factors. The emergence of extracellular vesicles (EVs) as entities that play key roles in cell-to-cell communication offer opportunities in exploring their features for use in therapeutics; i.e., management and treatment of various pathologies, such as those used for cancer. The potential use of EVs as therapeutic agents is attributed not only for their cell membrane-bound components, but also for their cargos, mostly bioactive molecules, wherein the former regulate interactions with a recipient cell while the latter trigger cellular functions/molecular mechanisms of a recipient cell. In this article, we highlight the involvement of EVs in hallmarks of a cancer cell, particularly focusing on those molecular processes that are influenced by EV cargos. Moreover, we explored the roles of RNA species and proteins carried by EVs in eliciting drug resistance phenotypes. Interestingly, engineered EVs have been investigated and proposed as therapeutic agents in various in vivo and in vitro studies, as well as in several clinical trials.
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