Reprint of "EXOSOME LEVELS IN HUMAN BODY FLUIDS: A TUMOR MARKER BY THEMSELVES?"

Despite considerable research efforts, the finding of reliable tumor biomarkers remains challenging and unresolved. In recent years a novel diagnostic biomedical tool with high potential has been identified in extracellular nanovesicles or exosomes. They are released by the majority of the cells and contain detailed molecular information on the cell of origin including tumor hallmarks. Exosomes can be isolated from easy accessible body fluids, and most importantly, they can at once provide with several biomarkers, with different levels of specificity. Recent clinical evidence shows that the levels of exosomes released into body fluids may by themselves represent a predictive/diagnostic of t…

Exosome levels in human body fluids: A tumor marker by themselves?

Despite considerable research efforts, the finding of reliable tumor biomarkers remains challenging and unresolved. In recent years a novel diagnostic biomedical tool with high potential has been identified in extracellular nanovesicles or exosomes. They are released by the majority of the cells and contain detailed molecular information on the cell of origin including tumor hallmarks. Exosomes can be isolated from easy accessible body fluids, and most importantly, they can provide several biomarkers, with different levels of specificity. Recent clinical evidence shows that the levels of exosomes released into body fluids may themselves represent a predictive/diagnostic of tumors, discrimin…

SPECIAL ISSUE: The clinical relevance of exosomes in cancer

Extracellular vesicles in cancer pros and cons: The importance of the evidence-based medicine

In this paper we want to introduce a hot topic for clinical and translational research in oncology and all the related medical fields: the "exosomology", i.e., the science that looks at exosomes as nanovesicular tools for theranostics. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles (EVs) of nanometric sizes actively secreted by normal and, above all, tumor cells. Among the EVs, exosomes are surely the most investigated and with the most promising results, mainly for what concerns their potential as representing the future of the so-called "liquid biopsy". Unfortunately, the huge and increasing amount of data coming from preclinical studies was not followed by an adequate number of clinical investigati…

Identification and relevance of the CD95-binding domain in the N-terminal region of ezrin.

The CD95 (Fas/APO-1) linkage to the actin cytoskeleton through ezrin is an essential requirement for susceptibility to the CD95-mediated apoptosis in CD4+ T cells. We have previously shown that moesin was not involved in the binding to CD95. Here we further support the specificity of the ezrin/CD95 binding, showing that radixin did not bind CD95. The ezrin region specifically and directly involved in the binding to CD95 was located in the middle lobe of the ezrin FERM domain, between amino acids 149 and 168. In this region, ezrin, radixin, and moesin show 60-65% identity, as compared with the 86% identity in the whole FERM domain. Transfection of two different human cell lines with a green …

On the Choice of the Extracellular Vesicles for Therapeutic Purposes

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid membrane vesicles released by all human cells and are widely recognized to be involved in many cellular processes, both in physiological and pathological conditions. They are mediators of cell-cell communication, at both paracrine and systemic levels, and therefore they are active players in cell differentiation, tissue homeostasis, and organ remodeling. Due to their ability to serve as a cargo for proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, which often reflects the cellular source, they should be considered the future of the natural nanodelivery of bio-compounds. To date, natural nanovesicles, such as exosomes, have been shown to represent a source of diseas…

Biological properties of extracellular vesicles and their physiological functions

The authors wish to thank Dr R Simpson and Dr D Taylor for critical reading of the manuscript and acknowledge the Horizon 2020 European Cooperation in Science and Technology programme and its support of our European Network on Microvesicles and Exosomes in Health & Disease (ME-HaD; BM1202 www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/bmbs/Actions/BM1202). In the past decade, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as potent vehicles of intercellular communication, both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. This is due to their capacity to transfer proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, thereby influencing various physiological and pathological functions of both recipient and parent cells. While intensive invest…

Extracellular Vesicles as Shuttles of Tumor Biomarkers and Anti-Tumor Drugs

Extracellular vesicles (EV) include vesicles released by either normal or tumor cells. EV may exceed the nanometric scale (microvesicles), or to be within the nanoscale, also called exosomes. Thus, it appears that only exosomes and larger vesicles may have the size for potential applications in nanomedicine, in either disease diagnosis or therapy. This is of particular interest for research in cancer, also because the vast majority of existing data on EV are coming from pre-clinical and clinical oncology. We know that the microenvironmental features of cancer may favor cell-to-cell paracrine communication through EV, but EV have been purified, characterized, and quantified from plasma of tu…

Heat shock protein 60 levels in tissue and circulating exosomes in human large bowel cancer before and after ablative surgery

BACKGROUND: Heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60) is a chaperonin involved in tumorigenesis, but its participation in tumor development and progression is not well understood and its value as a tumor biomarker has not been fully elucidated. In the current study, the authors presented evidence supporting the theory that Hsp60 has potential as a biomarker as well as a therapeutic target in patients with large bowel cancer. METHODS: The authors studied a population of 97 subjects, including patients and controls. Immunomorphology, Western blot analysis, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed on tissue specimens. Exosomes were isolated from blood and characterized by electr…

The histone deacetylase inhibitor SAHA induces HSP60 nitration and its extracellular release by exosomal vesicles in human lung-derived carcinoma cells

// Claudia Campanella 1, 2, * , Antonella D'Anneo 3, * , Antonella Marino Gammazza 1, 2, * , Celeste Caruso Bavisotto 1, 2 , Rosario Barone 1, 2 , Sonia Emanuele 4 , Filippa Lo Cascio 1 , Emanuele Mocciaro 1 , Stefano Fais 5 , Everly Conway De Macario 6 , Alberto J.L. Macario 2, 6 , Francesco Cappello 1, 2 , Marianna Lauricella 4 1 Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Section of Human Anatomy “Emerico Luna”, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 2 Euro-Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology, Palermo, Italy 3 Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Palermo, Palermo, Ita…

Exosomal Heat Shock Proteins as New Players in Tumour Cell-to-cell Communication

Exosomes have recently been proposed as novel elements in the study of intercellular communication in normal and pathological conditions. The biomolecular composition of exosomes reflects the specialized functions of the original cells. Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are a group of chaperone proteins with diverse biological roles. In recent years, many studies have focused on the extracellular roles played by Hsps that appear to be involved in cancer development and immune system stimulation. Hsps localized on the surface of exosomes, secreted by normal and tumour cells, could be key players in intercellular cross-talk, particularly during the course of different diseases, such as cancer. Exoso…

Human primary macrophages scavenge AuNPs and eliminate it through exosomes. A natural shuttling for nanomaterials.

Abstract The use of nanomaterials is increasing but the real risk associated with their use in humans has to be defined. In fact, nanomaterials tend to accumulate in organs over a long period of time and are slowly degraded or eliminated by the body. Exosomes are nanovesicles actively shuttle molecules, including chemical products and metals, through the body. Macrophages scavenge the body from both organic and inorganic substances, and they use to release high amounts of exosomes. We hypothesized that macrophages may have a role in eliminating nanomaterials through their exosomes. We treated human primary macrophages with 20 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), analyzing the presence of AuNPs in…

Exosomal Hsp60: A Tumor Biomarker?

Exosomes (EXs) are extracellular vesicles containing proteins, DNA, mRNA, non-coding RNAs, such as miRNAs, and lipid. The EXs can be easily isolated from different biological fluids and their content is considered a potential biomarker in various diseases, such as cancer. EXs play an important role in intercellular communication, permitting cells to exchange proteins, lipids, and genetic material in normal and pathological conditions. New data have shown that tumor cells-derived EXs contribute to cancer progression through the modulation of tumor microenvironment. Heat shock proteins 60 kDa (Hsp60) is classically considered mitochondrial proteins with different biological roles. In recent y…

Exosomal HSP60: a potentially useful biomarker for diagnosis, assessing prognosis, and monitoring response to treatment.

Introduction: Cell-to-cell communication is imperative for life and it is mediated by sending and receiving information via the secretion and subsequent receptor-mediated detection of biological molecules. Exosomes (EXs) secreted from cells to the extracellular environment play an important role in intercellular communication in normal and pathological conditions. Areas covered: New evidence indicates that tumor cells-derived EXs contribute to cancer progression through the modulation of tumor microenvironment. The exosomal heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) is very likely a key player in intercellular cross-talk, particularly during the progress of diseases, such as cancer. Many studies have fo…

Evidence-Based Clinical Use of Nanoscale Extracellular Vesicles in Nanomedicine

collaboration au projet H2020 European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) program European Network on Microvesicles and Exosomes in Health and Disease (ME-HAD); International audience; Recent research has demonstrated that all body fluids assessed contain substantial amounts of vesicles that range in size from 30 to 1000 nm and that are surrounded by phospholipid membranes containing different membrane microdomains such as lipid rafts and caveolae. The most prominent representatives of these so-called extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized exosomes (70-150 nm), which are derivatives of the endosomal system, and microvesicles (100-1000 nm), which are produced by outward budding…

Extracellular Vesicles-Based Drug Delivery Systems: A New Challenge and the Exemplum of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Research for the most selective drug delivery to tumors represents a fascinating key target in science. Alongside the artificial delivery systems identified in the last decades (e.g., liposomes), a family of natural extracellular vesicles (EVs) has gained increasing focus for their potential use in delivering anticancer compounds. EVs are released by all cell types to mediate cell-to-cell communication both at the paracrine and the systemic levels, suggesting a role for them as an ideal nano-delivery system. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) stands out among currently untreatable tumors, also due to the difficulties in achieving an early diagnosis. Thus, early diagnosis and treatment of …

Exosomal Chaperones and miRNAs in Gliomagenesis: State-of-Art and Theranostics Perspectives

Gliomas have poor prognosis no matter the treatment applied, remaining an unmet clinical need. As background for a substantial change in this situation, this review will focus on the following points: (i) the steady progress in establishing the role of molecular chaperones in carcinogenesis; (ii) the recent advances in the knowledge of miRNAs in regulating gene expression, including genes involved in carcinogenesis and genes encoding chaperones; and (iii) the findings about exosomes and their cargo released by tumor cells. We would like to trigger a discussion about the involvement of exosomal chaperones and miRNAs in gliomagenesis. Chaperones may be either targets for therapy, due to their…

Applying extracellular vesicles based therapeutics in clinical trials - an ISEV position paper.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as exosomes and microvesicles, are released by different cell types and participate in physiological and pathophysiological processes. EVs mediate intercellular communication as cell-derived extracellular signalling organelles that transmit specific information from their cell of origin to their target cells. As a result of these properties, EVs of defined cell types may serve as novel tools for various therapeutic approaches, including (a) anti-tumour therapy, (b) pathogen vaccination, (c) immune-modulatory and regenerative therapies and (d) drug delivery. The translation of EVs into clinical therapies requires the categorization of EV-based therapeutics …