Exosomes and Exosomal MicroRNA: Trafficking, Sorting, Functions, and Potential Clinical Applications
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Intracellular and Plasma Membranes".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2021) | Viewed by 1524
Special Issue Editors
Interests: exosomes; extracellular vesicles; pregnancy; ovarian cancer; biomarkers
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The past decade has seen an extraordinary explosion of research in the field of extracellular vesicles (EVs), especially in a specific type of EVs originating from the endosomal compartments, called exosomes. Exosomes are small (~30–120 nm), but highly stable membrane vesicles that are released from a wide range of cells, including normal and pathological cells (e.g., cancer). Exosomes and other types of EVs carry bioactive molecules such as microRNAs, which can be delivered to target cells to modify their biological functions, including cell metabolism, immune response, and metastasis. Several studies have suggested that the content of exosomes is cell type-specific, and it is believed that it is a “fingerprint” of the releasing cell and its metabolic status. However, there is evidence that certain microRNAs are selectively enriched in exosomes, which indicates the existence of certain selective packaging mechanisms. Exosomes and their specific content (e.g., miRNAs) represent a precious biomedical tool, and may be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of a wide range of diseases, including pregnancy complications and malignant tumors. Exosomes may engage in paracellular interactions (i.e., local cell-to-cell communication between the cells) and/or distal interactions (i.e., involving the release of placental or tumor exosomes into biological fluids and transportation to a remote site of action). The mechanisms involved in this phenomenon remain unclear; however, the inhibition of exosome release may reduce their intracellular bioavailability to the parent cell, thereby altering cell phenotype, and biological function.
Dr. Carlos Salomon Gallo
Dr. Andreas Moller
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- Exosomes
- Extracellular vesicles
- MicroRNAs
- Biomarkers
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