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Review
. 2024 Oct 21;16(5):mjae025.
doi: 10.1093/jmcb/mjae025.

Extracellular vesicles in cancer: golden goose or Trojan horse

Tao Han  1 , Qian Hao  2   3 , Tengfei Chao  4 , Qinggang Sun  1   5 , Yitian Chen  1   5 , Bo Gao  6 , Liping Guan  5 , Wenjie Ren  1 , Xiang Zhou  2   3   7   8
Affiliations
Review

Extracellular vesicles in cancer: golden goose or Trojan horse

Tao Han et al. J Mol Cell Biol. .

Abstract

Intercellular communication can be mediated by direct cell-to-cell contact and indirect interactions through secretion of soluble chemokines, cytokines, and growth factors. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as important mediators of cell-to-cell and cell-to-environment communications. EVs from tumor cells, immune cells, and stromal cells can remodel the tumor microenvironment and promote cancer cell survival, proliferation, metastasis, immune evasion, and therapeutic resistance. Most importantly, EVs as natural nanoparticles can be manipulated to serve as a potent delivery system for targeted cancer therapy. EVs can be engineered or modified to improve their ability to target tumors and deliver therapeutic substances, such as chemotherapeutic drugs, nucleic acids, and proteins, for the treatment of cancer. This review provides an overview of the biogenesis and recycling of EVs, discusses their roles in cancer development, and highlights their potential as a delivery system for targeted cancer therapy.

Keywords: cancer therapy; exosome; immune response; metastasis; tumor microenvironment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis and release of exosomes. Unlike ectosomes, exosomes arise from double invagination of the plasma membrane.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Cellular uptake of EVs. EVs bind to recipient cell surface to trigger various intracellular signaling pathways or be internalized through different mechanisms.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Roles of EVs in cancer. EVs mediate cancer predisposition, proliferation, migration and metastasis, immune response, and therapeutic resistance.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Engineering EVs for cancer therapy. EVs can be engineered with chemicals, nucleic acids, peptides, and proteins.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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