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Review
. 2020 Apr;20(4):387-400.
doi: 10.1080/14737159.2020.1731308. Epub 2020 Feb 20.

Exosomal biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and patient monitoring

Amy Makler  1   2 , Waseem Asghar  1   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Exosomal biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and patient monitoring

Amy Makler et al. Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2020 Apr.

Abstract

Introduction: In recent years, extensive research has been conducted on using exosomes as biomarkers for cancer detection. Exosomes are 40-150 nm-sized extracellular vesicles released by all cell types, including tumor cells. Exosomes are stable in body fluids due to their lipid bilayer member and often contain DNA, RNA, and proteins. These exosomes can be harvested from blood, plasma, serum, urine, or saliva and analyzed for tumor-relevant mutations. Thus, exosomes provide an alternative to current methods of tumor detection.Areas covered: This review discusses the use of exosomal diagnostics in various tumor types as well as their examination in various clinical trials. The authors also discuss the limitations of exosome-based diagnostics in the clinical setting and provide examples of several studies in which the development and usage of microfluidic chips and nano-sensing devices have been utilized to address these obstacles.Expert commentary: In recent years, exosomes and their contents have exhibited potential as novel tumor detection markers despite the labor involved in their harvest and isolation. Despite this, much work is being done to optimize exosome capture and analysis. Thus, their roles as biomarkers in the clinical setting appear promising.

Keywords: Biomarkers; cancer detection; diagnostics; exosomes; extracellular vesicles; microfluidic chips; nano-sensors; tumor detection.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interest

The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. ESCRT-dependent sorting and development of extracellular vesicles.
(I) ESCRT-0 initiates the extracellular vesicle formation by selecting ubiquitinated endosomal membrane proteins. (II) ESCRT-I and TSG101 complex with the ubiquitinated cargos to activate ESCRT-II. (III) ESCRT-II aids in the formation of ILVs and their consequent packaging into MVBs. (IV) The MVB contains multiple ILVs. (V) ESCRT-III deubiquitinates the MVB’s membrane and pinches the cellular membrane to aid in the release of the exosomes into extracellular space
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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