Current status of research on exosomes in general, and for the diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer in particular

Weipu Mao,Zonglin Wu,Ming Chen,Bin Xu,Keyi Wang

doi:10.1186/s13046-021-02114-2

Abstract

Kidney cancer is a common urological tumour. Owing to its high prevalence and mortality rate, it is the third most malignant tumour of the urinary system, followed by prostate and bladder cancers. It exerts a high degree of malignancy, and most of the distant metastasis occurs at an early stage; it is insensitive to chemoradiotherapy and easily develops drug resistance. The current treatment for kidney cancer mainly includes surgery, interventional embolization and targeted therapy; however, the treatment efficacy is poor. In recent years, the role of exosomes as mediators of intercellular communication and information exchange in the tumour microenvironment in tumour pathogenesis has attracted much attention. Exosomes are rich in bioactive substances such as nucleic acids, proteins and lipids and are involved in angiogenesis, immune regulation, drug resistance, formation of pre-metastatic niche, invasion and metastasis. This article reviews the ongoing research and applications of exosomes for the diagnosis and treatment of kidney cancer.

Highlights

Kidney cancer, known as renal cell carcinoma (RCC), is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract, and its incidence has increased at a rapid rate of 2% per year over the past two decades [1, 2]
Tumour-derived exosomes carry a large number of substances, including proteins, nucleic acids and lipids, which can alter the biological behaviour of target cells and participate in the development of kidney cancer
Exosomes play an important role in the infiltration and metastasis of kidney cancer and participate in tumour drug resistance and immune escape

Summary

Background

Known as renal cell carcinoma (RCC), is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract, and its incidence has increased at a rapid rate of 2% per year over the past two decades [1, 2]. Function of exosomes Exosomes are released by different cell types and can regulate the biological activity of target cells by transporting proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. They play a role in various biological processes such as angiogenesis, antigen presentation, apoptosis and inflammation [17]. The above-mentioned study demonstrates that exosomes mediate the development of drug resistance in tumour cells, which can provide novel therapeutic targets for patients and predict the responsiveness of patients to anti-tumour drugs through the detection of exosomal markers, providing an important reference for individualised treatment of kidney cancer [44, 136]. Exosomes are considered important drug delivery carriers for the treatment of cardiovascular

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Conclusion