Abstract
Extracellular vesicles are cell-derived membranous vesicles that are secreted into biofluids. Emerging evidence suggests that EVs play an essential role in the pathogenesis of many diseases by transferring proteins, genetic material, and small signaling molecules between cells. Among these molecules, microRNAs (miRNAs), a type of small noncoding RNA, are one of the most important signals and are involved in various biological processes. Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early diagnosis of lung cancer may help to reduce mortality and increase the 5 years survival rate and thereby reduce the associated socioeconomic burden. In the past, EV-miRNAs have been recognized as biomarkers of several cancers to assist in diagnosis or prognosis. In this review, we discuss recent findings and clinical practice for EV-miRNAs of lung cancer in several biofluids, including blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and pleural lavage.
Highlights
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a series of vesicles about 50 nm–1 μm in diameter that are delimited by a lipid bilayer
EVs are released from most cell types and can be detected in several biofluids, including blood, urine, sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) (Xu et al, 2016)
MiRNA profiling, sequencing, and arrays have been extensively used in various EV-miRNA studies, and a relatively large number of samples were needed for analysis
Summary
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a series of vesicles about 50 nm–1 μm in diameter that are delimited by a lipid bilayer. EVs are released from most cell types and can be detected in several biofluids, including blood, urine, sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) (Xu et al, 2016). The membrane of EVs is similar to that of their “mother cells”, which comprise a phospholipid bilayer (Raposo and Stoorvogel, 2013). Diverse materials are found within the EV membrane, including RNA, DNA, proteins, and other molecules (Raposo and Stoorvogel, 2013). It is believed that EVs, together with these materials, could act as a messenger between cells (Densmore et al, 2006; Tkach and Thery, 2016; Aiello et al, 2020). EVs have been recognized as a biomarker of these diseases and can help in diagnosis or prognosis (Becker et al, 2016; Jansen et al, 2017; Rahbarghazi et al, 2019)
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