Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Thorac Cancer. 2021 Dec;12(23):3088-3100. doi: 10.1111/1759-7714.14217. Epub 2021 Nov 4.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide due to diagnosis in the advanced stage and drug resistance in the subsequent treatments. Development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods is urged to improve the disease outcome. Exosomes are nano-sized vehicles which transport different types of biomolecules intercellularly, including DNA, RNA and proteins, and are implicated in cross-talk between cells and their surrounding microenvironment. Tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) have been revealed to strongly influence the tumor microenvironment, antitumor immunoregulatory activities, tumor progression and metastasis. Potential of TEXs as biomarkers for lung cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment prediction is supported by numerous studies. Moreover, exosomes have been proposed to be promising drug carriers. Here, we review the mechanisms of exosomal formation and uptake, the functions of exosomes in carcinogenesis, and potential clinical utility of exosomes as biomarkers, tumor vaccine and drug delivery vehicles in the diagnosis and therapeutics of lung cancer.
肺癌是全球癌症相关死亡的主要原因，这是由于在晚期诊断和随后的治疗中出现耐药性。因此，迫切需要开发新的诊断和治疗方法来改善疾病预后。外泌体是一种纳米大小的载体，可在细胞间运输包括 DNA、RNA 和蛋白质在内的不同类型的生物分子，并参与细胞与其周围微环境之间的交流。已经发现肿瘤来源的外泌体（TEXs）强烈影响肿瘤微环境、抗肿瘤免疫调节活性、肿瘤进展和转移。许多研究支持 TEXs 作为肺癌诊断、预后和治疗预测的生物标志物的潜力。此外，外泌体被认为是很有前途的药物载体。在这里，我们综述了外泌体形成和摄取的机制、外泌体在致癌作用中的功能，以及外泌体作为生物标志物、肿瘤疫苗和药物递送载体在肺癌诊断和治疗中的潜在临床应用。
