Colorectal cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles induce TGFβ1-mediated epithelial to mesenchymal transition of normal hepatocytes: new insights on pre-metastatic niche formation in the liver

More than 50% of patients affected by colorectal cancer (CRC) present liver metastasis, which is the most frequent cause of CRC-associated death. Numerous studies have shown that metastatic cascade is the result of complex mechanisms based on two-way interactions between invasive CRC cells and liver resident cells. In recent years, several findings have demonstrated that small extracellular vesicles (SEVs) released by cancer cells play a crucial role in the formation of pre-metastatic niche in the liver, specifically affecting the activities of non-parenchymal cells as Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells. However, although hepatocytes (heps) are the most conspicuous in the liver, their…