The Role of Exo-miRNAs in Cancer: A Focus on Therapeutic and Diagnostic Applications

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2019 Sep 25

PMID 31546654

Citations 81

Authors

Francesco Ingenito

Giuseppina Roscigno

Alessandra Affinito

Silvia Nuzzo

Iolanda Scognamiglio

Cristina Quintavalle

Gerolama Condorelli

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles released into biological fluids where they act as carriers of various molecules, including proteins, lipids, and RNAs, between cells, modulating or perturbing specific physiological processes. Recently, it has been suggested that tumoral cells release excessive amounts of exosomes that, through their cargo, promote tumor progression, stimulating growth, angiogenesis, metastasis, insensitivity to chemotherapy, and immune evasion. Increasing evidence highlights exosomal microRNAs (exo-miRNAs) as important players in tumorigenesis. MicroRNA (miRNA) are a class of small non-coding RNA able to regulate gene expression, targeting multiple mRNAs and inducing translational repression and/or mRNA degradation. Exo-miRNAs are highly stable and easily detectable in biological fluids, and for these reasons, miRNAs are potential cancer biomarkers useful diagnostically and prognostically. Furthermore, since exosomes are natural delivery systems between cells, they can be appropriately modified to carry therapeutic miRNAs to specific recipient cells. Here we summarize the main functions of exo-miRNAs and their possible role for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

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