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Updated: Mar 26, 2026

An Enrichment Method for Small Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Liver Cancer Tissue
Published on: February 3, 2023
Decoding the Secret of Cancer by Means of Extracellular Vesicles
Nobuyoshi Kosaka1,2,3
1Division of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, National Cancer Center Research Institute, 5-1-1, Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan. nkosaka@ncc.go.jp.
Abstract:
One of the recent outstanding developments in cancer biology is the emergence of extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs, which are small membrane vesicles that contain proteins, mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and microRNAs (miRNAs), are secreted by a variety of cells and have been revealed to play an important role in intercellular communications. These molecules function in the recipient cells; this has brought new insight into cell-cell communication. Recent reports have shown that EVs contribute to cancer cell development, including tumor initiation, angiogenesis, immune surveillance, drug resistance, invasion, metastasis, maintenance of cancer stem cells, and EMT phenotype. In this review, I will summarize recent studies on EV-mediated miRNA transfer in cancer biology. Furthermore, I will also highlight the possibility of novel diagnostics and therapy using miRNAs in EVs against cancer.
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