Pirisinu Marco, Pham Tin Chanh, Zhang Daniel Xin, Hong Tran Nguyen, Nguyen Lap Thi, Le Minh Tn
Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117600, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR of China, China.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR of China, China; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Semin Cancer Biol. 2022 May;80:340-355. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2020.08.007. Epub 2020 Sep 22.
As cancer poses a significant threat to the well-being of humans on a global scale, many researchers have embarked on the search for effective anticancer therapeutic agents. In recent years, many drugs have been shown to have extraordinary anticancer effects. However, in a lot of cases the treatment is accompanied by undesirable side effects due to some intrinsic properties linked to the therapeutic agents, such as poor targeting selectivity and short half-life in the circulation. In this regard, extracellular vesicles (EVs), a diverse family of natural cell-derived vesicles, steal the show as potential anticancer immunotherapy or delivery vectors of anticancer agents since they are an innate mechanism of intercellular communication. Here, we describe some of the most hotly-debated issues regarding the use of EVs as anticancer therapeutics. First, we review the biology of EVs providing the most up-to-date definition of EVs as well as highlighting their circulation kinetics and homing properties. Next, we share our views on popular methods reported for EV isolation, characterization, and functional analysis. Pioneering and innovative reports along with emerging challenges in the field of EV imaging and EV drug loading strategies are then discussed. Finally, we examine in detail the therapeutic application of EVs in cancer treatment, including their role in cancer immunotherapy and as natural delivery systems for anticancer agents including natural compounds such as paclitaxel and doxorubicin. We consider standardised protocols and proper analytical approaches to be crucial in improving the reproducibility and rigor in EV research and ensuring the successful translation of EVs as anticancer therapeutics.
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