Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017:2017:2931813.
doi: 10.1155/2017/2931813. Epub 2017 Feb 7.

Functional Roles and Therapeutic Applications of Exosomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Laura Santangelo  1 , Cecilia Battistelli  2 , Claudia Montaldo  1 , Franca Citarella  2 , Raffaele Strippoli  2 , Carla Cicchini  2
Affiliations
Review

Functional Roles and Therapeutic Applications of Exosomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Laura Santangelo et al. Biomed Res Int. 2017.

Abstract

Exosomes are important in intercellular communication. They assure the horizontal transfer of specific functional contents (i.e., proteins, lipids, RNA molecules, and circulating DNA) from donor to recipient cells. Notably, tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) appear to be an important vehicle of specific signals in cancer, impacting on tumor growth and metastasis. Recent researches point to the characterization of exosomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), the major adult liver malignancy. In this review, we summarize current findings on HCC exosomes, focusing on the identification of noncoding RNAs as exosome-enriched functional regulators and new potential biomarkers. The great potential of exosomes in future HCC diagnostic and therapeutic approaches is underlined.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no potential conflicts (financial, professional, or personal) that are relevant to the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of the specific composition of HCC exosome. Known exosomal markers (such as tetraspanins and TSG101), as well as HCC exosome-enriched proteins and RNAs, are represented in the scheme.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mittelbrunn M., Sánchez-Madrid F. Intercellular communication: diverse structures for exchange of genetic information. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 2012;13(5):328–335. doi: 10.1038/nrm3335. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thierry A. R., El Messaoudi S., Gahan P. B., Anker P., Stroun M. Origins, structures, and functions of circulating DNA in oncology. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews. 2016;35(3):347–376. doi: 10.1007/s10555-016-9629-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Azmi A. S., Bao B., Sarkar F. H. Exosomes in cancer development, metastasis, and drug resistance: a comprehensive review. Cancer and Metastasis Reviews. 2013;32(3-4):623–642. doi: 10.1007/s10555-013-9441-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhang Y., Wang X.-F. A niche role for cancer exosomes in metastasis. Nature Cell Biology. 2015;17(6):709–711. doi: 10.1038/ncb3181. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kalluri R. The biology and function of exosomes in cancer. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2016;126(4):1208–1215. doi: 10.1172/JCI81135. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources