The Biological Roles of Exosomal Long Non-Coding RNAs in Cancers

Abstract

Although it has many treatment strategies, cancer is still one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles (EVs) that can be secreted by almost all cells. Exosomes can encapsulate various types of molecules, including lipids, proteins, DNA, messenger RNAs, and non-coding RNAs [microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)]. Exosome release is a way of communication between cells. They act as powerful signaling molecules between cancer cells and the surrounding cells that make up the cancer microenvironment. lncRNAs are a class of non-coding P, with a length of more than 200 bp, which are differentially expressed in many cancers. lncRNAs have been widely regarded as a new medium for cancer behavior. The presence of lncRNAs in circulation can be acellular or encapsulated in exosomal bodies released by cancer cells. Exosomal lncRNAs are functional and can transmit different phenotypic patterns to neighboring cells. Here, we reviewed the molecular mechanism of exosomal lncRNAs in regulating cancer progression, angiogenesis, and chemotherapy resistance, as well as the prospective applications of exosomal lncRNAs in cancer diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. These findings potentially promote the current understanding of exosomal lncRNAs and provide a new research direction for exosomal lncRNAs in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Keywords: cancer; exosome; long non-coding RNAs.

Figure 1

The molecular mechanism of exosomal lncRNAs in cancers. This figure summarizes the molecular mechanism of exosomal lncRNAs regulate cancer cells proliferation, cancer invasion and metastasis, cancer angiogenesis, chemotherapy drug resistance and radiosensitivity, respectively.

Figure 2

Network illustrating exosomal lncRNAs regulate cancer cells proliferation. This figure summarizes the literatures related to exosomal lncRNAs regulate cancer cells proliferation published in recent years, and shows the constructed network diagram of the relationships between exosomal lncRNAs and cancer cells proliferation. These cancers include hepatocellular cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, glioma and bladder cancer.

Figure 3

Network illustrating exosomal lncRNAs regulate cancer invasion and metastasis. This figure summarizes the literatures related to exosomal lncRNAs regulate cancers invasion and metastasis published in recent years, and shows the constructed network diagram of the relationships between exosomal lncRNAs and cancers invasion and metastasis. These cancers include oral cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma, osteosarcoma, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, hepatocellular cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer.

Figure 4

Network illustrating exosomal lncRNAs regulate chemotherapy drug resistance. This figure summarizes the literatures related to exosomal lncRNAs regulate chemotherapy drug resistance published in recent years, and shows the constructed network diagram of the relationships between exosomal lncRNAs and chemotherapy drug resistance. The (A–C) represents breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and esophageal squamous cell cancer, respectively.