Abstract
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles involved in several biological and pathological molecules and can carry many bioactive materials to target cells. They work as important mediators of cell-cell communication and play essential roles in many diseases, especially in cancer. Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynecological malignancies. Most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages involving widespread peritoneal dissemination, resulting in poor prognosis. Emerging evidence has shown that exosomes play vital roles throughout the progression of ovarian cancer. Moreover, the development of engineered exosome-based therapeutic applications— including drug delivery systems, biomolecular targets and immune therapy—has increased drastically. Herein, we review the functional features of exosomes in ovarian cancer progression and the therapeutic application potential of exosomes as novel cancer treatments.
Highlights
Almost all cells release various types of extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies [1]
In 2007, Valadi et al showed that EVs contain both messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and micro RNAs (miRNAs) that can be transferred to another cell and become functional in the new location [6]
Kim et al tested sonication as a method for loading paclitaxel into macrophage-derived exosomes. This method resulted in a high loading efficiency accompanied by sustained drug release, while it did not significantly affect the protein or lipid contents of the exosomes [57]. These data strongly suggest that exosome-encapsulated chemotherapeutic drugs can exert robust cytotoxic effects to cancer cells without increasing apparent adverse events, indicating they can serve as a promising novel delivery platform for the treatment of ovarian cancer which is resistant to the standard chemotherapy
Summary
Almost all cells release various types of extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies [1]. A variety of novel drugs, including molecular target drugs, immune checkpoint inhibitors and pharmacological inhibitors have been developed and applied for clinical trials, the clinical cure rate in patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer has not substantially improved [12,13,14]. To overcome this lethal disease, the discovery of other novel therapeutic approaches is necessary. As promising therapeutic interventions for ovarian cancer, EVs as represented by exosomes have received great attention due to their molecular dynamics. We highlight the latest findings that describe the role of exosomes in ovarian cancer pathogenesis and the potential of engineering exosomes for therapeutic application in cancer therapies
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