Cancer-derived exosomal miR-7641 promotes breast cancer progression and metastasis

Abstract

Background Intercellular communication is crucial for breast cancer progression and metastasis. However, the role of cancer-derived exosomes and their crucial microRNA (miRNA) cargoes mediating intercellular communication requires further investigation. Methods Cancer-derived exosomes were isolated using differential centrifugation and differentially expressed miRNAs were determined by microarrays and qRT-PCR analysis. Cell proliferation, wound-healing, Transwell invasion, and tumor xenograft assays were used for functional research. Plasma exosomal RNA was isolated to verify its role as a prognostic biomarker. Results We found that the tumor-promoting capacity of the exosomes was positively related to their cells of origin. MiR-7641 was identified to be the most differentially expressed miRNA, both at endogenous and secretory levels in high-metastatic cancer cells. MiR-7641 could promote tumor cell progression and metastasis, and that these functions of miR-7641 could alter recipient cells via transportation of exosomes. Additionally, exosomal miR-7641 could promote tumor growth in vivo; and its levels were significantly elevated in the plasma of patients with distant metastasis. Bioinformatics analysis has suggested that miR-7641 is correlated with breast cancer survival, and several important cellular and biological processes are closely targeted by miR-7641. Conclusion The findings indicate miR-7641 to be an important component of the cancer exosomes in promoting tumor progression and metastasis via intercellular communication. Additionally, exosomal miR-7641 may serve as a promising non-invasive diagnostic biomarker and potential targetable candidate in breast cancer treatment.

Identification of Circulating Exosomal miR-101 and miR-125b Panel Act as a Potential Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…Moreover, Wang and colleagues suggested that serum exosomal miRNA-1226-3p is a potential biomarker for diagnosing and predicting the tumor invasion or metastases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [ 16 ]. Furthermore, Shen and colleagues demonstrated that cancer-derived exosomal miR-7641 may serve as a promising noninvasive diagnostic biomarker and potential targetable candidate in breast cancer treatment [ 20 ]. We confirmed that circulating exosomal miR-101 and miR-125b panel served as a novel promising biomarker for diagnosing HCC because of its reliable ability to differentiate patients with HCC from normal controls.…”

“…Exosomes are remarkably stable in body fluids, and they can carry various contents from donor cells to recipient cells, including proteins, lipids, DNA, and RNA [ 13 , 14 ]. Emerging evidence has demonstrated that exosomes and their delivered miRNAs have potential use as novel potential biomarkers in various cancers, such as HCC [ 15 ], pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [ 16 ], glioblastoma [ 17 ], prostate cancer [ 18 ], colorectal cancer [ 19 ], and breast cancer [ 20 ]. However, many circulating miRNAs that have been identified as potential diagnostic biomarkers of HCC were not selected through high-throughput screening; thus, other miRNAs that may have a higher diagnostic value were ignored.…”

Exosomes: Potential Disease Biomarkers and New Therapeutic Targets

“…In particular, miR-7641 levels were significantly elevated in the plasma of patients with BCA compared with patients without metastasis. Thus, miR-7641 could be considered as a promising non-invasive diagnostic biomarker [188]. In addition, the combination of four miRNAs (miR-1246 + miR-206 + miR-24 + miR-373) have been shown to have a sensitivity of 98%, specificity of 96% and accuracy of 97% for BCA detection [189].…”

Tumor-derived exosomal components: the multifaceted roles and mechanisms in breast cancer metastasis

“…The miR-155 shuttled by exosomes introduced a novel behavior with the increased ability of cancer development and metastasis. The elevated miR-7641 in BC-derived exosomes was found in the plasma of BC patients with distant metastasis and could promote tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo 53 . MiR-7641 could promote BC-cell proliferation and invasion, and induce epigenetic modulation in recipient cells via exosome transfer.…”