Department of General Surgery, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Center of Cellular Therapy, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Cancer Lett. 2018 Feb 1;414:107-115. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2017.10.040. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Exosomes are a new means of intercellular information exchange that have aroused great research interest. Long neglected in research, exosomes were deemed nonfunctional cellular components to be discarded. However, it has been gradually revealed that exosomes are an important tool for the exchange of intercellular information and material. Exosomes contain specific repertoires of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs, including microRNA and lncRNA), indicating that a specific RNA sorting mechanism may exist. Correspondingly, intracellular multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are produced after fusion with the cell membrane to release exosomes rather than inducing autophagy, which reveals that there may be a specific regulatory mechanism for MVB secretion. Cells can trigger cancer-related disorders after the recognition and uptake of circulating exosomal ncRNAs, providing indications for early tumor biopsy and treatment. The use of exosomes as a biological carrier in targeted therapy has been demonstrated. However, there may be a specific, unknown switch for loading drugs. This review focuses on the mechanisms of exosome biogenesis, release, and uptake. We also review the promotion of tumor development by exosomal ncRNAs including chemotherapy resistance, metastasis and the prospective use of exosomes in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
外泌体是一种新的细胞间信息交流方式，引起了广泛的研究兴趣。长期以来，外泌体在研究中被忽视，被认为是无功能的细胞成分而被丢弃。然而，人们逐渐发现，外泌体是细胞间信息和物质交流的重要工具。外泌体含有特定的非编码 RNA（ncRNA，包括 microRNA 和 lncRNA）谱，表明可能存在特定的 RNA 分拣机制。相应地，细胞内的多泡体（MVB）在与细胞膜融合后释放出外泌体，而不是诱导自噬，这表明 MVB 分泌可能存在特定的调节机制。细胞可以通过识别和摄取循环外泌体 ncRNA 引发与癌症相关的疾病，为早期肿瘤活检和治疗提供了依据。外泌体已被证明可作为靶向治疗的生物载体。然而，可能存在一个特定的、未知的加载药物的开关。本综述重点讨论了外泌体的生物发生、释放和摄取机制。我们还回顾了外泌体 ncRNA 促进肿瘤发展的作用，包括化疗耐药性、转移，以及外泌体在癌症诊断和治疗中的前瞻性应用。
