Role of microRNA carried by small extracellular vesicles in urological tumors

Yiping Mao; Mengting Zhang; Lanfeng Wang; Yukang Lu; Xinyi Hu; Zhiping Chen

doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1192937

Role of microRNA carried by small extracellular vesicles in urological tumors

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Jun 2:11:1192937. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1192937. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yiping Mao^{1

2}, Mengting Zhang^{1

2}, Lanfeng Wang³, Yukang Lu^{1

2}, Xinyi Hu^{1

2}, Zhiping Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ The First School of Clinical Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.
³ Department of Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.

Abstract

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are minute vesicles secreted by various cells that are capable of transporting cargo, including microRNAs, between donor and recipient cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs approximately 22 nucleotides in length, have been implicated in a wide array of biological processes, including those involved in tumorigenesis. Emerging evidence highlights the pivotal role of miRNAs encapsulated in sEVs in both the diagnosis and treatment of urological tumors, with potential implications in epithelial-mesenchymal transition, proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis, tumor microenvironment and drug resistance. This review provides a brief overview of the biogenesis and functional mechanisms of sEVs and miRNAs, followed by a summarization of recent empirical findings on miRNAs encapsulated in sEVs from three archetypal urologic malignancies: prostate cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma, and bladder cancer. We conclude by underscoring the potential of sEV-enclosed miRNAs as both biomarkers and therapeutic targets, with a particular focus on their detection and analysis in biological fluids such as urine, plasma, and serum.

Keywords: MicroRNAs; barrett esophagus; diagnosis; small extracelllular vesicles; therapy; urological tumors.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This research was funded by Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, grant number 20202BABL206119, Health Commission of Jiangxi Province, Grant Number. 202210860, and Bureau of Science and Technology of Ganzhou Municipality, Grant Number. GZ2021ZSF004.