Small Extracellular Vesicles: A Novel Avenue for Brain Tumor Management 2.0

Dear Colleagues,

It is well-known that extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate cell-to-cell communication in cancer. Tumor cells produce large amounts of EVs, whose cargo is composed of nucleic acids, proteins and lipids that are delivered to nearby or distant recipient cells. Cells can select the EV cargo, thus protecting the molecules packaged within the EVs from enzymatic degradation. It has also been found that EVs are involved in cell cross-talk within the tumor microenvironment, and crucially influence several cancer-associated features, such as the immune recognition of malignant cells, vascular permeability, extracellular matrix remodeling, the establishment of an inflammatory state, and the formation of metastatic niche.

In the brain, EVs are secreted not only by tumor cells, but also by all other existing cell types, such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia and neurons. Recent studies reveal that miRNAs are secreted in the body fluids as EV cargo, and can influence the recipient cell phenotype. EVs properly function as reservoirs for miRNAs, which thanks to their protection remain stable and easily accessible, and can properly reflect the pathophysiological state of the primary affected tissue. For these reasons, and because EVs are secreted with a distinctive composition by all cell types in all body fluids, miRNAs contained in EVs are promising candidate liquid biomarkers of great significance for cancer. In this scenario, the isolation of miRNAs from EVs to identify molecular signatures for brain tumor early diagnosis could possibly replace the more costly and invasive tissue biopsy procedures in the near future.

In addition, the ability of EVs to act as natural carriers offers a novel platform for the development of new therapeutic strategies. However, despite these prospects, many EV-related aspects such as EV production, isolation and cargo definition, as well as their role in cancer progression and subsequent theranostic applications still remain to be fully defined.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to attract original research articles and reviews from experts in the field of EV research related to brain tumor presenting innovative approaches or expressing novel views on the multifaceted world of EVs in cancer biology, progression and therapy. We invite colleagues to focus on small EVs, which have been widely demonstrated to mediate the transfer of several bioactive molecules, including miRNA.

Original papers and review articles focused on the latest advances in small EV studies for brain tumor management are welcome.

Key areas that will be covered in this Special Issue include the following:

• The use of model systems to study the biology of small EVs in brain tumors and their use for theranostic approaches;
• The relations between the cells of origin and their targets;
• The use of EVs as a source of candidate biomarkers for liquid biopsy;
• The role of EVs in inflammation and shaping of the brain tumor microenvironment;
• The characterization of specific cargos and their role in recipient cells and cancer progression;
• EV engineering for the design of targeted therapy strategies.

Dr. Ingrid Cifola
Dr. Igea D'Agnano
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. Biomedicines 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 2600 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.

• extracellular vesicles

• brain tumors
• tumor microenvironment
• liquid biopsy
• tumor biomarkers
• microRNAs
• gene expression