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Updated: Oct 13, 2025

A Preclinical Mouse Model of Osteosarcoma to Define the Extracellular Vesicle-mediated Communication Between Tumor and Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Published on: May 6, 2018
The multifaceted involvement of exosomes in tumor progression: Induction and inhibition
Wen-Jie Gu1, Yi-Wen Shen1, Li-Jun Zhang1
1Institute of Interdisciplinary Integrative Medicine Research Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Shanghai China.
Abstract:
As key performers in intercellular communication, exosomes released by tumor cells play an important role in cancer development, including angiogenesis, cancer-associated fibroblasts activation, epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), immune escape, and pre-metastatic niche formation. Meanwhile, other cells in tumor microenvironment (TME) can secrete exosomes and facilitate tumor progression. Elucidating mechanisms regarding these processes may offer perspectives for exosome-based antitumor strategies. In this review, we mainly introduce the versatile roles of tumor or stromal cell derived exosomes in cancer development, with a particular focus on the biological capabilities and functionalities of their diverse contents, such as miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs. The potential clinical application of exosomes as biomarkers in cancer diagnosis and prognosis is also discussed. Finally, the current antitumor strategies based on exosomes in immunotherapy and targeted delivery for chemotherapeutic or biological agents are summarized.
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