EXOSOMES DERIVED FROM METASTATIC COLON CANCER CELLS TRANSFER MALIGNANT PHENOTYPIC TRAITS TO SURROUNDING CELLS: THEIR EMERGING ROLE IN TUMOR HETEROGENEITY

Several studies have clearly demonstrated that within a heterogeneous tumor mass the inter-clonal cooperation between metastatic and non-metastatic cells can facilitate the tumor progression. Recent accumulating evidence has highlighted that tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) play a relevant role as mediator of the inter-clonal collaborative cooperation affecting the properties of both tumor and non-tumor component. In this context, our goal was to understand if exosomes derived from highly metastatic cells may influence the behaviour of less aggressive tumor cells and the properties of endothelium. We found that metastatic SW620 cells transfer through exosomes (SW620Exos) their round/amoeboid p…