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Review
. 2019 Mar 20;20(6):1406.
doi: 10.3390/ijms20061406.

Exosomes and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Bench to Bedside

Reina Sasaki  1 , Tatsuo Kanda  2 , Osamu Yokosuka  3 , Naoya Kato  4 , Shunichi Matsuoka  5 , Mitsuhiko Moriyama  6
Affiliations
Review

Exosomes and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Bench to Bedside

Reina Sasaki et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

As hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually occurs in the background of cirrhosis, which is an end-stage form of liver diseases, treatment options for advanced HCC are limited, due to poor liver function. The exosome is a nanometer-sized membrane vesicle structure that originates from the endosome. Exosome-mediated transfer of proteins, DNAs and various forms of RNA, such as microRNA (miRNA), long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA), contributes to the development of HCC. Exosomes mediate communication between both HCC and non-HCC cells involved in tumor-associated cells, and several molecules are implicated in exosome biogenesis. Exosomes may be potential diagnostic biomarkers for early-stage HCC. Exosomal proteins, miRNAs and lncRNAs could provide new biomarker information for HCC. Exosomes are also potential targets for the treatment of HCC. Notably, further efforts are required in this field. We reviewed recent literature and demonstrated how useful exosomes are for diagnosing patients with HCC, treating patients with HCC and predicting the prognosis of HCC patients.

Keywords: exosome; hepatocellular carcinoma; long noncoding RNA; microRNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

T.K. received research grants from AbbVie, Eisai, Daiichi-Sankyo, Shionogi, Mitsubishi-Tanabe Pharma, Astellas, Ono Pharma and Takeda Pharma. The other authors declare no conflict of interest. N.K. reports grants and other from Abbvie, grants and other from Merck & Co., Inc., grants and other from Chugai Pharmaceutical CO., LTD., grants and other from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, grants and other from Gilead Sciences, grants and other from Bristol-Myers Squibb. outside the submitted work. The funders had no role in the designing the study in the collecting, analyzing, or interpreting the data; in writing of the manuscript, or in deciding to publish the results. Other authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this publication.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Exosomes and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Exosomes transfer proteins, DNAs and various forms of RNA, such as microRNA (miRNA), long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA), between HCC and non-HCC cells. Exosomes induce local and systemic reactions, contributing to the development of HCC. Exosomes are useful biomarkers and therapeutic tools for HCC.
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