Department of Cell Signaling and Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.
Center for Metabolic Regulation of Healthy Aging, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan.
J Biochem. 2021 Mar 5;169(2):155-161. doi: 10.1093/jb/mvaa132.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small particles that are naturally released from various types of cells. EVs contain a wide variety of cellular components, such as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and metabolites, which facilitate intercellular communication in diverse biological processes. In the tumour microenvironment, EVs have been shown to play important roles in tumour progression, including immune system-tumour interactions. Although previous studies have convincingly demonstrated the immunosuppressive functions of tumour-derived EVs, some studies have suggested that tumour-derived EVs can also stimulate host immunity, especially in therapeutic conditions. Recent studies have revealed the heterogeneous nature of EVs with different structural and biological characteristics that may account for the divergent functions of EVs in tumour immunity. In this review article, we provide a brief summary of our current understanding of tumour-derived EVs in immune activation and inhibition. We also highlight the emerging utility of EVs in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and discuss the potential clinical applications of tumour-derived EVs.
细胞外囊泡（EVs）是一类由多种细胞自然释放的微小颗粒。EVs 含有多种细胞成分，如蛋白质、核酸、脂类和代谢物，这些成分在多种生物学过程中促进细胞间的通讯。在肿瘤微环境中，EVs 已被证明在肿瘤进展中发挥重要作用，包括免疫系统与肿瘤的相互作用。尽管先前的研究令人信服地证明了肿瘤来源的 EVs 具有免疫抑制功能，但一些研究表明，肿瘤来源的 EVs 也可以刺激宿主免疫，特别是在治疗条件下。最近的研究揭示了 EVs 的异质性，具有不同的结构和生物学特征，这可能解释了 EVs 在肿瘤免疫中的不同功能。在这篇综述文章中，我们简要总结了我们目前对肿瘤来源的 EVs 在免疫激活和抑制中的理解。我们还强调了 EVs 在癌症诊断和治疗中的新应用，并讨论了肿瘤来源的 EVs 的潜在临床应用。
