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Extracellular Vesicles: Subcellular Organelles With the Potential to Spread Cancer Resistance

Fanny Ender1, Nikolas VON Bubnoff2, Frank Gieseler2

  • 1Clinic for Hematology and Oncology, Experimental Oncology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), University of Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany fanny.ender@uksh.de.

Anticancer Research
|July 3, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells release extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and ectosomes, which mediate drug resistance. Understanding EV biology is crucial for developing new cancer treatment strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Anticancer drug resistance is a major cause of treatment failure.
  • Extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by cancer cells play a role in mediating drug resistance.
  • EVs are classified as exosomes and ectosomes based on biogenesis and characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the role of EVs in mediating cancer drug resistance.
  • To highlight the distinctions between exosomes and ectosomes in resistance mechanisms.
  • To emphasize the importance of EV biology for developing novel therapeutic strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review focusing on extracellular vesicle biology and cancer drug resistance.
  • Analysis of studies differentiating exosome and ectosome functions.
  • Synthesis of current knowledge on EV biogenesis, release, targeting, and uptake.

Main Results:

  • Extracellular vesicles are key mediators of cancer drug resistance.
  • Exosomes and ectosomes employ distinct mechanisms to confer resistance.
  • Understanding EV pathways is essential for overcoming treatment failure.

Conclusions:

  • Extracellular vesicles significantly contribute to cancer drug resistance.
  • Targeting EV pathways presents a promising avenue for novel cancer therapies.
  • Further research into exosome and ectosome biology is warranted to improve treatment outcomes.
Keywords:
Cancer drug resistanceectosomesexosomesextracellular vesiclesmicrovesiclesreviewsequential centrifugation

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