International Journal of Nanomedicine (Oct 2021)
Roles of Microvesicles in Tumor Progression and Clinical Applications
Abstract
Shuangli Zhu,1 Shiyu Li,1 Ming Yi,1 Ning Li,2 Kongming Wu1,2 1Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450008, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ning LiDepartment of Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University & Henan Cancer Hospital, Zhengzhou, 450008, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-371-65587805Email [email protected] WuDepartment of Oncology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-27-69378414Email [email protected]: Microvesicles are extracellular vesicles with diameter ranging from 100 to 1000 nm that are secreted by tumor cells or other cells in the tumor microenvironment. A growing number of studies demonstrate that tumor-derived microvesicles are involved in tumor initiation and progression, as well as drug resistance. In addition, tumor-derived microvesicles carry a variety of immunogenic molecules and inhibit tumor response to immunotherapy; therefore, they can be exploited for use in tumor vaccines. Moreover, because of their high stability, tumor-derived microvesicles extracted from body fluids can be used as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis or assessment of prognosis. Tumor-derived microvesicles can also be deployed to reverse drug resistance of tumor regenerative cells, or to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs and oncolytic adenovirus for the treatment of cancer patients. This review summarizes the general characteristics of tumor-derived microvesicles, focusing on their biological characteristics, their involvement in tumor progression, and their clinical applications.Keywords: tumor-derived microvesicles, metastasis, drug resistance, cancer vaccine, cancer
