Exosomes in triple negative breast cancer: From bench to bedside

Weiqiang Tang; Min Xia; Yajie Liao; Yuan Fang; Gebo Wen; Jing Zhong

doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2021.12.009

Exosomes in triple negative breast cancer: From bench to bedside

Cancer Lett. 2022 Feb 28:527:1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.12.009. Epub 2021 Dec 10.

Authors

Weiqiang Tang¹, Min Xia¹, Yajie Liao², Yuan Fang³, Gebo Wen⁴, Jing Zhong⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, PR China.
² Institute of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, The First People's Hospital of Chenzhou, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, PR China.
³ Organ Transplantation Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650032, PR China.
⁴ Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, PR China; Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, PR China. Electronic address: wenggb@usc.edu.cn.
⁵ Institute of Clinical Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, 421001, PR China; Cancer Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, PR China. Electronic address: zhongjing2002@usc.edu.cn.

PMID: 34902521
DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.12.009

Abstract

Exosomes are lipid bilayer extracellular vesicles with a size of 30-150 nm, which can be released by various types of cells including breast cancer cells. Exosomes are enriched with multiple nucleic acids, lipids, proteins and play critical biological roles by binding to recipient cells and transmitting various biological cargos. Studies have reported that tumor-derived exosomes are involved in cancer initiation and progression, such as promoting cancer invasion and metastasis, accelerating angiogenesis, contributing to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and enhancing drug resistance in tumors. Recently the dysregulating of exosomes has been found in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), relating to the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of TNBC patients. Considering the poor prognosis and lack of adequate response to conventional therapy of TNBC, the discovery of certain exosomes as a new target for diagnosis and treatment of TNBC may be a good choice that provides new opportunities for the early diagnosis, clinical treatment of TNBC. Here, we first discuss the innovative prognostic and predictive effects of exosomes on TNBC, as well as the practical clinical problems. Secondly, we focus on the new therapeutic areas represented by exosomes, especially the impact of introducing exosomes in TNBC treatment in the future.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Clinical; Exosomes; Extracellular vesicles; Noncoding RNAs; TNBC treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Exosomes / metabolism*
Female
Humans
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms / genetics*