H Rashed Mohammed, Bayraktar Emine, K Helal Gouda, Abd-Ellah Mohamed F, Amero Paola, Chavez-Reyes Arturo, Rodriguez-Aguayo Cristian
Department of Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Al-Azhar, Cairo 11754, Egypt.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Mar 2;18(3):538. doi: 10.3390/ijms18030538.
Intercellular communication via cell-released vesicles is a very important process for both normal and tumor cells. Cell communication may involve exosomes, small vesicles of endocytic origin that are released by all types of cells and are found in abundance in body fluids, including blood, saliva, urine, and breast milk. Exosomes have been shown to carry lipids, proteins, mRNAs, non-coding RNAs, and even DNA out of cells. They are more than simply molecular garbage bins, however, in that the molecules they carry can be taken up by other cells. Thus, exosomes transfer biological information to neighboring cells and through this cell-to-cell communication are involved not only in physiological functions such as cell-to-cell communication, but also in the pathogenesis of some diseases, including tumors and neurodegenerative conditions. Our increasing understanding of why cells release exosomes and their role in intercellular communication has revealed the very complex and sophisticated contribution of exosomes to health and disease. The aim of this review is to reveal the emerging roles of exosomes in normal and pathological conditions and describe the controversial biological role of exosomes, as it is now understood, in carcinogenesis. We also summarize what is known about exosome biogenesis, composition, functions, and pathways and discuss the potential clinical applications of exosomes, especially as biomarkers and novel therapeutic agents.
通过细胞释放的囊泡进行细胞间通讯对于正常细胞和肿瘤细胞而言都是非常重要的过程。细胞通讯可能涉及外泌体，即起源于内吞作用的小囊泡，由所有类型的细胞释放，并且在包括血液、唾液、尿液和母乳在内的体液中大量存在。已证明外泌体可携带脂质、蛋白质、信使核糖核酸、非编码核糖核酸，甚至DNA离开细胞。然而，它们不仅仅是简单的分子垃圾桶，因为它们携带的分子可以被其他细胞摄取。因此，外泌体将生物信息传递给相邻细胞，并通过这种细胞间通讯不仅参与细胞间通讯等生理功能，还参与包括肿瘤和神经退行性疾病在内的一些疾病的发病机制。我们对细胞为何释放外泌体及其在细胞间通讯中的作用的理解不断加深，这揭示了外泌体对健康和疾病的非常复杂和精妙的贡献。本综述的目的是揭示外泌体在正常和病理条件下的新作用，并描述目前所了解的外泌体在致癌作用中颇具争议的生物学作用。我们还总结了关于外泌体生物发生、组成、功能和途径的已知信息，并讨论外泌体的潜在临床应用，特别是作为生物标志物和新型治疗剂的应用。
