Exosomes in the Tumor Microenvironment: From Biology to Clinical Applications
Vitor Rodrigues da Costa,
Rodrigo Pinheiro Araldi,
Hugo Vigerelli,
Fernanda D’Ámelio,
Thais Biude Mendes,
Vivian Gonzaga,
Bruna Policíquio,
Gabriel Avelar Colozza-Gama,
Cristiane Wenceslau Valverde,
Irina Kerkis
Affiliations
Vitor Rodrigues da Costa
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFES), São Paulo 04039-032, Brazil
Rodrigo Pinheiro Araldi
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFES), São Paulo 04039-032, Brazil
Hugo Vigerelli
Genetics Laboratory, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil
Fernanda D’Ámelio
Genetics Laboratory, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil
Thais Biude Mendes
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFES), São Paulo 04039-032, Brazil
Vivian Gonzaga
Genetics Laboratory, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil
Bruna Policíquio
Genetics Laboratory, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo 05508-010, Brazil
Gabriel Avelar Colozza-Gama
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFES), São Paulo 04039-032, Brazil
Cristiane Wenceslau Valverde
Cellavita Pesquisas Científicas Ltd.a., Valinhos 13271-650, Brazil
Irina Kerkis
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Estrutural e Funcional, Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM), Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFES), São Paulo 04039-032, Brazil
Cancer is one of the most important health problems and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Despite the advances in oncology, cancer heterogeneity remains challenging to therapeutics. This is because the exosome-mediated crosstalk between cancer and non-cancer cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) contributes to the acquisition of all hallmarks of cancer and leads to the formation of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which exhibit resistance to a range of anticancer drugs. Thus, this review aims to summarize the role of TME-derived exosomes in cancer biology and explore the clinical potential of mesenchymal stem-cell-derived exosomes as a cancer treatment, discussing future prospects of cell-free therapy for cancer treatment and challenges to be overcome.
