Zeinalzadeh Fatemeh, Mousavikia Seyedeh Nasibeh, Bahreyni Toossi Mohammad Taghi, Azimian Hosein
Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran; Medical Physics Research Center, Basic Sciences Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2025 Jul;1869(8):130823. doi: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2025.130823. Epub 2025 May 26.
Cancer remains a major global health problem characterized by complex biological mechanisms and diverse clinical manifestations. Radiotherapy is a key element in cancer treatment. However, radioresistance is a major obstacle to achieving optimal results. This resistance is associated with several factors, including genetic and epigenetic changes in tumor cells that allow cancer cells to survive and proliferate despite radiation exposure. In this context, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in the tumor microenvironment. Due to their unique properties such as self-renewal, migration to tumors via the bloodstream and involvement in paracrine signaling, they are important for understanding cancer biology and treatment responses. MSCs can release exosomes that can promote intercellular communication and influence tumor response to radiotherapy. However, the role of MSCs in cancer is complex and sometimes contradictory. In some contexts they may exhibit tumor suppressive effects, while in others they promote tumor growth and metastasis. This duality raises important questions about their overall impact on cancer therapy, particularly in relation to radiotherapy. This review will first explore the multifaceted role of MSCs and their exosomes as key mediators of cellular communication within the tumor microenvironment, and then assess the implications of these interactions for radiotherapy, focusing on how MSCs may influence treatment efficacy and the potential to harness their properties to improve therapeutic outcomes.
癌症仍然是一个主要的全球健康问题，其特征在于复杂的生物学机制和多样的临床表现。放射治疗是癌症治疗的关键要素。然而，放射抗性是实现最佳治疗效果的主要障碍。这种抗性与多种因素相关，包括肿瘤细胞中的基因和表观遗传变化，这些变化使癌细胞尽管受到辐射仍能存活和增殖。在此背景下，间充质干细胞（MSC）在肿瘤微环境中发挥着重要作用。由于其独特的特性，如自我更新、通过血液循环迁移至肿瘤以及参与旁分泌信号传导，它们对于理解癌症生物学和治疗反应非常重要。MSC可以释放外泌体，这些外泌体能够促进细胞间通讯并影响肿瘤对放射治疗的反应。然而，MSC在癌症中的作用是复杂的，有时甚至相互矛盾。在某些情况下，它们可能表现出肿瘤抑制作用，而在其他情况下则促进肿瘤生长和转移。这种双重性引发了关于它们对癌症治疗总体影响的重要问题，特别是与放射治疗相关的问题。本综述将首先探讨MSC及其外泌体作为肿瘤微环境中细胞通讯关键介质的多方面作用，然后评估这些相互作用对放射治疗的影响，重点关注MSC如何影响治疗效果以及利用其特性改善治疗结果的潜力。
