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Biology
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Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Development, Metastasis and Treatment
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Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Development, Metastasis and Treatment

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2024) | Viewed by 7054

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Antonietta Di Bella

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics (Bi.N.D.), University of Palermo, I-90133 Palermo, Italy
Interests: extracellular vesicles; exosomes; intercellular communication; cancer biomarkers; mechanisms underlying extracellular vesicles generation; innate immunity
Dr. Simona Taverna

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Translational Pharmacology (IFT), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 90146 Palermo, Italy
Interests: extracellular vesicles; exosomes; cell-cell communication; cancer; non-coding RNAs; cancer biomarkers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are important nanoparticles released by almost all cell types and which can be found in different biological fluids. Over the last few decades, the role of EVs in the intercellular communication field has been recognized. Namely, EVs operate by carrying molecules (i.e., proteins, mRNAs, non-coding RNAs, and lipids), being internalized in target cells, modulating physiology during all stages of life and via involvement in many fundamental biological pathways whose pathologic functions range from normal to varied. EVs are also key players in cancer. Several types of cells can secrete extracellular vesicles that contribute to cancer initiation, progression, and drug resistance. EVs are also excellent candidates as a source of biomarkers in these diseases as their cargoes reflect the pathophysiological signatures of the cell of origin. Thus, a timely and comprehensive understanding of these mechanisms is helpful for the development of innovative approaches, showing new impacts on both the early diagnosis and outcomes of cancer treatment.

As the scientific community remains far away from a attaining full understanding of the roles of EVs in cancer progression, this Special Issue aims to convey the current understanding about EVs and the intricate EV signaling networks that enable cancer cells to thrive.

Both original research manuscripts and reviews are welcome for submission to this Special Issue. Potential research areas include (but are not limited to) all aspects of cancer signaling pathways and therapeutics, research on new technologies employed for studying cancer biomarker identifications and methods for tracing cancer pathways. Short communications of preliminary, but significant, results will also be considered. This Special Issue will inform readers about new discoveries, advances, and development in cancer therapeutics.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Maria Antonietta Di Bella
Dr. Simona Taverna
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • extracellular vesicles and exosomes
  • biological activity in development, differentiation
  • therapeutic applications
  • cancer biology
  • nanomedicine
  • biomarkers
  • tumor development
  • metastasis
  • drug delivery

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1266 KiB  
Article
MiRNAs in Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers in Plasma of Papillary Thyroid Cancer Patients: A Proof-of-Concept Study
by Giuseppa D’Amico, Radha Santonocito, Godfrey Grech, Giuseppa Graceffa, Calogero Cipolla, Federica Scalia, Samuele Raccosta, Mauro Manno, Everly Conway de Macario, Alberto J. L. Macario, Francesco Cappello, Francesca Rappa, Celeste Caruso Bavisotto and Claudia Campanella
Biology 2024, 13(9), 743; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13090743 - 22 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1717
Abstract
Background: The incidence of various types of cancer, for example, papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), is on the rise. Since therapeutic success depends greatly on early diagnosis, reliable diagnostic biomarkers must be identified, and easy-to-apply tools for detecting them must urgently be standardized. Here, [...] Read more.
Background: The incidence of various types of cancer, for example, papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), is on the rise. Since therapeutic success depends greatly on early diagnosis, reliable diagnostic biomarkers must be identified, and easy-to-apply tools for detecting them must urgently be standardized. Here, we contribute to solving this medical challenge by assessing miRNAs suspected of promoting carcinogenesis in extracellular vesicles (EVs) that can be routinely obtained via liquid biopsy. We profit from current progress in cancerology that provides innovations in liquid biopsy and EVs analysis, along with the identification of miRNAs and chaperone system (CS) components implicated in carcinogenesis. Methods: We measured in EVs obtained from circulating blood plasma from PTC patients the levels of three miRNAs implicated in thyroid cancer, hsa-miR-1-3p, hsa-miR-206, and hsa-miR-221-3p, and most likely involved in the regulation of two members of the CS, Hsp60 and CCT. EVs were isolated from the plasma of patients with PTC and controls with benign goiter (BG) and from the culture medium of a PTC cell line (MDAT32) and were appropriately characterized. Results: The levels of miRNAs determined by RT-qPCR were consistently higher in PTC patients and decreased down to control levels after thyroidectomy. Bioinformatics showed that the miRNAs target genes are associated with the molecular pathogenesis of PTC. Conclusions: Our exploratory study reaffirms the potential in clinics of the selected miRNAs in EVs as useful biomarkers of PTC easily accessible via liquid biopsy, which is minimally invasive and amenable to periodic repetition, an improvement compared to the established fine-needle aspirate biopsy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Development, Metastasis and Treatment)
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Review

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33 pages, 3193 KiB  
Review
Extracellular Vesicles: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications in Cancer
by Maria Antonietta Di Bella and Simona Taverna
Biology 2024, 13(9), 716; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13090716 - 12 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3011
Abstract
In recent years, knowledge of cell-released extracellular vesicle (EV) functions has undergone rapid growth. EVs are membrane vesicles loaded with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and bioactive molecules. Once released into the extracellular space, EVs are delivered to target cells that may go through [...] Read more.
In recent years, knowledge of cell-released extracellular vesicle (EV) functions has undergone rapid growth. EVs are membrane vesicles loaded with proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and bioactive molecules. Once released into the extracellular space, EVs are delivered to target cells that may go through modifications in physiological or pathological conditions. EVs are nano shuttles with a crucial role in promoting short- and long-distance cell–cell communication. Comprehension of the mechanism that regulates this process is a benefit for both medicine and basic science. Currently, EVs attract immense interest in precision and nanomedicine for their potential use in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapies. This review reports the latest advances in EV studies, focusing on the nature and features of EVs and on conventional and emerging methodologies used for their separation, characterization, and visualization. By searching an extended portion of the relevant literature, this work aims to give a summary of advances in nanomedical applications of EVs. Moreover, concerns that require further studies before translation to clinical applications are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Development, Metastasis and Treatment)
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Graphical abstract

31 pages, 1960 KiB  
Review
Role of Extracellular Vesicles in the Progression of Brain Tumors
by Gabriella Schiera, Carlo Maria Di Liegro, Francesco Vento and Italia Di Liegro
Biology 2024, 13(8), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13080586 - 2 Aug 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1565
Abstract
Brain tumors, and, in particular, glioblastoma (GBM), are among the most aggressive forms of cancer. In spite of the advancement in the available therapies, both diagnosis and treatments are still unable to ensure pathology-free survival of the GBM patients for more than 12–15 [...] Read more.
Brain tumors, and, in particular, glioblastoma (GBM), are among the most aggressive forms of cancer. In spite of the advancement in the available therapies, both diagnosis and treatments are still unable to ensure pathology-free survival of the GBM patients for more than 12–15 months. At the basis of the still poor ability to cope with brain tumors, we can consider: (i) intra-tumor heterogeneity; (ii) heterogeneity of the tumor properties when we compare different patients; (iii) the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which makes difficult both isolation of tumor-specific biomarkers and delivering of therapeutic drugs to the brain. Recently, it is becoming increasingly clear that cancer cells release large amounts of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that transport metabolites, proteins, different classes of RNAs, DNA, and lipids. These structures are involved in the pathological process and characterize any particular form of cancer. Moreover, EVs are able to cross the BBB in both directions. Starting from these observations, researchers are now evaluating the possibility to use EVs purified from organic fluids (first of all, blood and saliva), in order to obtain, through non-invasive methods (liquid biopsy), tumor biomarkers, and, perhaps, also for obtaining nanocarriers for the targeted delivering of drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer Development, Metastasis and Treatment)
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