Extracellular Vesicles in the Tumour Microenvironment: Eclectic Supervisors

Abstract

The tumour microenvironment (TME) plays a crucial role in the regulation of cell survival and growth by providing inhibitory or stimulatory signals. Extracellular vesicles (EV) represent one of the most relevant cell-to-cell communication mechanism among cells within the TME. Moreover, EV contribute to the crosstalk among cancerous, immune, endothelial, and stromal cells to establish TME diversity. EV contain proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs, which can be locally delivered in the TME and/or transferred to remote sites to dictate tumour behaviour. EV in the TME impact on cancer cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, immune-escape, pre-metastatic niche formation and the stimulation of angiogenesis. Moreover, EV can boost or inhibit tumours depending on the TME conditions and their cell of origin. Therefore, to move towards the identification of new targets and the development of a novel generation of EV-based targeting approaches to gain insight into EV mechanism of action in the TME would be of particular relevance. The aim here is to provide an overview of the current knowledge of EV released from different TME cellular components and their role in driving TME diversity. Moreover, recent proposed engineering approaches to targeting cells in the TME via EV are discussed.

Exosomes produced by melanoma cells significantly influence the biological properties of normal and cancer-associated fibroblasts

“…Interestingly, exosomes deliver cargoes that can both be of cancer-supporting and cancer-inhibiting nature (Cavallari et al 2020 ). The melanoma-produced exosomes promote proinflammatory signalling important for tumour local progression and metastasis (Gener Lahav et al 2019 ; Kodet et al 2020 ).…”

The Metalloprotease-Disintegrin ADAM8 Alters the Tumor Suppressor miR-181a-5p Expression Profile in Glioblastoma Thereby Contributing to Its Aggressiveness

“…Cancer invasion is closely associated with the interaction of infiltrating tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) ( 34 ). As a means of communication, extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by tumor cells as well as by cells of the TME.…”

“…Their cargo contains lipids and proteins as well as nucleic acids including miRNAs ( 35 ). Because EVs modulate tumor growth, immune-escape, and tumor cell niche formation, they function as central regulators of the TME ( 34 ).…”

Extracellular Vesicles as a Novel Liquid Biopsy-Based Diagnosis for the Central Nervous System, Head and Neck, Lung, and Gastrointestinal Cancers: Current and Future Perspectives

“…EVs participate in several biological processes both in physiological and pathological human diseases. Specifically in cancer, EVs play an essential role in different oncogenic processes, including cell-to-cell communication, the shaping of the tumour microenvironment (TME), epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and pre-metastatic niche formation [ 12 , 13 ]. The EV cargo frequently differs between tumour- and healthy-derived EVs.…”