Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Isolation of Low Endotoxin Content Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Cancer Cell Lines
Published on: February 17, 2023
Cancer cells copy migratory behavior and exchange signaling networks via extracellular vesicles
Sander C Steenbeek1,2, Thang V Pham3, Joep de Ligt4
1Molecular Pathology, Oncode Institute, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Recent data showed that cancer cells from different tumor subtypes with distinct metastatic potential influence each other's metastatic behavior by exchanging biomolecules through extracellular vesicles (EVs). However, it is debated how small amounts of cargo can mediate this effect, especially in tumors where all cells are from one subtype, and only subtle molecular differences drive metastatic heterogeneity. To study this, we have characterized the content of EVs shed in vivo by two clones of melanoma (B16) tumors with distinct metastatic potential. Using the Cre-LoxP system and intravital microscopy, we show that cells from these distinct clones phenocopy their migratory behavior through EV exchange. By tandem mass spectrometry and RNA sequencing, we show that EVs shed by these clones into the tumor microenvironment contain thousands of different proteins and RNAs, and many of these biomolecules are from interconnected signaling networks involved in cellular processes such as migration. Thus, EVs contain numerous proteins and RNAs and act on recipient cells by invoking a multi-faceted biological response including cell migration.
Related Concept Videos
Social Exchange Theory
The Extracellular Matrix
What is Cell Signaling?
Bacterial Signaling
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Gas Exchange and Transport

