Liu Guozhen, Liu Quan, Jia Lingmei, Chai Zhi, Jing Li, Xu Fangjing, Fan Yucheng
Department of Spinal Surgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, China.
Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Xiantao, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xiantao, China.
Cell Death Discov. 2025 Apr 24;11(1):196. doi: 10.1038/s41420-025-02494-w.
Breast cancer (BC) poses significant challenges globally, necessitating a deeper understanding of its complexities. Exosomes are cell-specific secreted extracellular vesicles of interest, characterized by a lipid bilayer structure. Exosomes can carry a variety of bioactive components, including nucleic acids, lipids, amino acids, and small molecules, to mediate intercellular signaling. CircRNAs are a novel class of single-stranded RNA molecules, characterized by a closed-loop structure. CircRNAs mainly exert ceRNA functions to intricately modulate gene expression and signaling pathways in breast cancer, influencing tumor progression and therapeutic responses. The unique packaging of circRNAs within exosomes serves as novel genetic information transmitters, facilitating communication between BC cells and microenvironmental cells, thereby regulating critical aspects of BC progression, immune evasion, and drug resistance. Besides, exosomal circRNAs possess the capabilities of serving as diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers of BC, due to their stability, specificity, and regulatory roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis. Therefore, this review aims to elucidate the novel roles and mechanisms of exosomal circRNAs in BC progression, as well as their potential for diagnosis and therapeutics. The ongoing investigations of exosomal circRNAs will potentially revolutionize treatment paradigms and improve patient outcomes of BC.
乳腺癌（BC）在全球范围内构成了重大挑战，因此有必要更深入地了解其复杂性。外泌体是一类特定细胞分泌的细胞外囊泡，具有脂质双层结构。外泌体可以携带多种生物活性成分，包括核酸、脂质、氨基酸和小分子，以介导细胞间信号传导。环状RNA（circRNAs）是一类新型的单链RNA分子，具有闭环结构。circRNAs主要发挥竞争性内源RNA（ceRNA）功能，复杂地调节乳腺癌中的基因表达和信号通路，影响肿瘤进展和治疗反应。circRNAs在外泌体内的独特包装使其成为新型遗传信息传递者，促进BC细胞与微环境细胞之间的通讯，从而调节BC进展、免疫逃逸和耐药性的关键方面。此外，外泌体circRNAs由于其在肿瘤发生和转移中的稳定性、特异性和调节作用，具有作为BC诊断和治疗生物标志物的能力。因此，本综述旨在阐明外泌体circRNAs在BC进展中的新作用和机制，以及它们在诊断和治疗方面的潜力。对外泌体circRNAs的持续研究可能会彻底改变治疗模式并改善BC患者的预后。
