Institute of General Pathology, Università Cattolica and Policlinico Gemelli, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Apr 13;19(4):1183. doi: 10.3390/ijms19041183.
In recent years many articles have underlined the key role of nanovesicles, i.e., exosomes, as information carriers among biological systems including cancer. Tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) are key players in the dynamic crosstalk between cancer cells and the microenvironment while promote immune system control evasion. In fact, tumors are undoubtedly capable of silencing the immune response through multiple mechanisms, including the release of exosomes. TEXs have been shown to boost tumor growth and promote progression and metastatic spreading via suppression or stimulation of the immune response towards cancer cells. The advantage of immunotherapeutic treatment alone over combining immuno- and conventional therapy is currently debated. Understanding the role of tumor exosome-cargo is of crucial importance for our full comprehension of neoplastic immonosuppression and for the construction of novel therapies and vaccines based on (nano-) vesicles. Furthermore, to devise new anti-cancer approaches, diverse groups investigated the possibility of engineering TEXs by conditioning cancer cells’ own cargo. In this review, we summarize the state of art of TEX-based immunomodulation with a particular focus on the molecular function of non-coding family genes, microRNAs. Finally, we will report on recent efforts in the study of potential applications of engineered exosomes in cancer immunotherapy.
近年来，许多文章强调了纳米囊泡（即外泌体）作为包括癌症在内的生物系统之间信息载体的关键作用。肿瘤衍生的外泌体（TEXs）是癌细胞与微环境之间动态串扰的关键参与者，同时促进了免疫系统控制的逃逸。事实上，肿瘤无疑能够通过多种机制沉默免疫反应，包括释放外泌体。TEXs 通过抑制或刺激对癌细胞的免疫反应，促进肿瘤生长和进展以及转移扩散。单独进行免疫治疗与免疫和常规治疗相结合的优势目前存在争议。充分理解肿瘤外泌体货物的作用对于我们全面理解肿瘤免疫抑制以及基于（纳米）囊泡构建新型治疗方法和疫苗至关重要。此外，为了设计新的抗癌方法，不同的研究小组研究了通过调节癌细胞自身货物来工程化 TEX 的可能性。在这篇综述中，我们总结了基于 TEX 的免疫调节的最新进展，特别关注非编码家族基因、microRNAs 的分子功能。最后，我们将报告关于工程化外泌体在癌症免疫治疗中潜在应用的最新研究进展。
