Exosomes Derived from Metastatic Colon Cancer Cells Induced Oncogenic Transformation and Migratory Potential of Immortalized Human Cells

Abstract

Tiny vesicles, synthesized from cell membranes through endocytosis, form multivesicular bodies (MVBs). These MVBs can either undergo lysosomal degradation or be released to the extracellular environment. The vesicle that ranges in size from 30-300 nm that were positive for markers such as CD63 or CD9 are known as exosomes. Exosomes are shown to contain various biological macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, miRNA, proteins, and lipids. Releasing exosomes from cells to the extracellular environment is an important strategy to transfer information between the cells. Exosomes from primary colon cancer cells have been shown to induce the oncogenic transformation of normal cells. In this study, we have demonstrated that treating normal cells (HEK) with exosomes derived from the metastatic colon cancer cell line (SW620) increases cell proliferation, allowing the normal cells to grow anchored independently, suggesting the oncogenic transformation of normal cells. In addition, there was an increase in migration and invasion properties of HEK cells exposed to exosomes from SW620 cells. Our results suggest that following the treatment with metastatic colon cancer cell-derived exosomes, the HEK cells underwent an oncogenic transformation and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) that will allow the cancerous cells to metastasize.