Molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of exosomes in prostate cancer

Xiaolin Cui; Qiang Fu; Xueying Wang; Pengcheng Xia; Xianglun Cui; Xiaohui Bai; Zhiming Lu

doi:10.1186/s40364-022-00398-w

Molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of exosomes in prostate cancer

Biomark Res. 2022 Jul 29;10(1):56. doi: 10.1186/s40364-022-00398-w.

Authors

Xiaolin Cui^#^{1

2}, Qiang Fu^#³, Xueying Wang^{1

2}, Pengcheng Xia^{1

2}, Xianglun Cui^{1

2}, Xiaohui Bai^{1

2}, Zhiming Lu^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China.
³ Department of Urology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁴ Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China. luzhiming@sdu.edu.cn.
⁵ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China. luzhiming@sdu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PC) is a common tumor in men, and the incidence rate is high worldwide. Exosomes are nanosized vesicles released by all types of cells into multiple biological fluid types. These vesicles contribute to intercellular communication by delivering both nucleic acids and proteins to recipient cells. In recent years, many studies have explored the mechanisms by which exosomes mediate the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, angiogenesis, tumor microenvironment establishment, and drug resistance acquisition in PC, and the mechanisms that have been identified and the molecules involved have provided new perspectives for the possible discovery of novel diagnostic markers in PC. Furthermore, the excellent biophysical properties of exosomes, such as their high stability, high biocompatibility and ability to cross biological barriers, have made exosomes promising candidates for use in novel targeted drug delivery system development. In this review, we summarize the roles of exosomes in the growth and signal transmission in PC and show the promising future of exosome contributions to PC diagnostics and treatment.

Keywords: Angiogenesis; Biomarker; Drug resistance; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Exosome; Prostate cancer; Targeted therapy; Tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

Review