Exosomes are extracellular microvesicles released from cells, which are involved in many biological and pathological processes, mainly because of their role in intercellular communication. Exosomes derived from colorectal cancer (CRC) cells are related to oncogenesis, tumor cell survival, chemo-resistance, and metastasis. The role of the exosomes in these processes involves the transfer of proteins, RNAs, or mutant versions of proto-oncogenes to the target cells. In recent years, great efforts have been made to identify useful biomarkers in CRC exosomes for diagnosis, prediction of prognosis, and treatment response. This review focuses on recent studies on CRC exosomes, considering isolation, cargo, biomarkers, and the effects of exosomes on the development and progression of CRC, including resistance to antitumor therapy.

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The generation of organs from stem cells by blastocyst complementation is a promising approach to cover the clinical need for transplants. In order to generate rejection-free organs, complementation of both parenchymal and vascular cells must be achieved, as endothelial cells play a key role in graft rejection. Here we used a lineage-specific cell ablation system to produce mouse embryos unable to form both the cardiac and vascular systems. By mouse intraspecies blastocyst complementation we rescued heart and vascular development separately and in combination, obtaining complemented hearts with cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells of exogenous origin. Complemented chimeras were viable and reached adult stage, showing normal cardiac function and no signs of histopathological defects in the heart. Furthermore, we implemented the cell ablation system for rat-to-mouse blastocyst complementation, obtaining xenogeneic hearts whose cardiomyocytes were completely of rat origin. These results represent an advance in the experimentation towards the in vivo generation of transplantable organs.