Yao Man, Liang Shufang, Cheng Binbin
Oncology Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University (The Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China.
Faculty of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University (The Second Military Medical University), Shanghai, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2023 Jan 17;14:1110922. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1110922. eCollection 2023.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually occurs on the basis of chronic liver inflammatory diseases and cirrhosis. The liver microenvironment plays a vital role in the tumor initiation and progression. Exosomes, which are nanometer-sized membrane vesicles are secreted by a number of cell types. Exosomes carry multiple proteins, DNAs and various forms of RNA, and are mediators of cell-cell communication and regulate the tumor microenvironment. In the recent decade, many studies have demonstrated that exosomes are involved in the communication between HCC cells and the stromal cells, including endothelial cells, macrophages, hepatic stellate cells and the immune cells, and serve as a regulator in the tumor proliferation and metastasis, immune evasion and immunotherapy. In addition, exosomes can also be used for the diagnosis and treatment HCC. They can potentially serve as specific biomarkers for early diagnosis and drug delivery vehicles of HCC. Chinese herbal medicine, which is widely used in the prevention and treatment of HCC in China, may regulate the release of exosomes and exosomes-mediated intercellular communication. In this review, we summarized the latest progresses on the role of the exosomes in the initiation, progression and treatment of HCC and the potential value of Traditional Chinese medicine in exosomes-mediated biological behaviors of HCC.
肝细胞癌（HCC）通常发生在慢性肝脏炎症性疾病和肝硬化的基础上。肝脏微环境在肿瘤的发生和进展中起着至关重要的作用。外泌体是由多种细胞类型分泌的纳米级膜泡。外泌体携带多种蛋白质、DNA和各种形式的RNA，是细胞间通讯的介质，并调节肿瘤微环境。在最近十年中，许多研究表明外泌体参与了HCC细胞与基质细胞之间的通讯，包括内皮细胞、巨噬细胞、肝星状细胞和免疫细胞，并在肿瘤增殖和转移、免疫逃逸及免疫治疗中发挥调节作用。此外，外泌体还可用于HCC的诊断和治疗。它们有可能作为HCC早期诊断的特异性生物标志物和药物递送载体。在中国广泛用于预防和治疗HCC的中药，可能会调节外泌体的释放以及外泌体介导的细胞间通讯。在本综述中，我们总结了外泌体在HCC发生、进展和治疗中的作用以及中药在外泌体介导的HCC生物学行为中的潜在价值的最新进展。
