bims-exocan 2025-12-07 papers

bims-exocan

Biomed News

on Exosomes roles in cancer

Issue of 2025–12–07
six papers selected by
Muhammad Rizwan, COMSATS University

Exosomal proteins as drivers of metastasis to distant organs.
Exosomal miRNAs versus circulating tumor DNA: diagnostic accuracy for early detection of recurrence post-radical prostatectomy: A narrative review.
Scalable Exosome Isolation Platform for Clinical-Scale Therapeutics: Bridging Gaps in Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine.
Exosomal TACSTD2 promotes invasion, metastasis and glycolysis in ovarian cancer.
Extracellular vesicles cargo orchestration in colorectal cancer: immune evasion, stromal remodeling, and therapeutic frontiers.
Exosomes as Central Mediators of Host-Pathogen Interactions in Periodontitis: A Systematic Literature Review.

Biomed Pharmacother. 2025 Dec 04. pii: S0753-3322(25)01080-7. [Epub ahead of print]193 118886

Exosomal proteins as drivers of metastasis to distant organs.

Israel Martínez-Espinosa, José A Serrato, Jesús Germán-Valenzuela, Blanca Ortiz-Quintero.

  Metastasis to distant organs remains the primary cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Although progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms behind metastasis, the processes that drive tumor cells to invade and colonize distant organs remain incompletely understood. Increasing evidence highlights the critical role of exosomal proteins as key regulators in the complex molecular events that facilitate metastatic spread. Tumor-derived exosomes, which contain specific protein cargos, promote invasive behavior, modulate immune responses, increase blood vessel permeability, create a pre-metastatic niche, and support organotropism. Exosomal proteins, such as CEMIP, ITGBL1, integrins (α6β4 and αvβ5), and PD-L1, have been linked to the colonization of distant secondary organs, including the brain, liver, and lungs. Proteomic analysis of circulating exosomal proteins also shows their potential as minimally invasive biomarkers for predicting metastatic potential and disease progression. This review examines the role of exosomal proteins in key mechanisms that directly contribute to cancer dissemination to distant organs. This review also highlights the emerging relevance of exosomal proteins as diagnostic indicators of metastasis and as potential therapeutic targets, positioning them as future dual-purpose tools to improve both detection and intervention strategies in metastatic disease.

Keywords:  Cancer; Exosomal proteins; Metastasis

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118886
Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 Nov 28. 104(48): e46239

Exosomal miRNAs versus circulating tumor DNA: diagnostic accuracy for early detection of recurrence post-radical prostatectomy: A narrative review.

Hamza Bashir, Muhammad Waqas Afzal, Asad Mehmood, Maham Afzal, Muhammad Wasi Hassan, Abida Parveen.

  Prostate cancer is a leading malignancy worldwide, and while radical prostatectomy is an effective treatment for localized disease, a significant proportion of patients experience biochemical recurrence. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) remains the primary biomarker for recurrence detection, but its limitations in specificity necessitate improved surveillance tools. Liquid biopsy techniques, particularly exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), have emerged as promising noninvasive biomarkers for early recurrence detection. However, their comparative diagnostic accuracy remains unclear. This narrative review explores the diagnostic potential of exosomal miRNAs and ctDNA for early recurrence detection following radical prostatectomy. It examines their biological characteristics, detection methodologies, comparative diagnostic performance, and clinical challenges. Both exosomal miRNAs and ctDNA hold significant potential for the early detection of prostate cancer recurrence post-radical prostatectomy. However, the lack of standardized protocols and the variability in current studies limit definitive conclusions about their relative accuracy. Future large-scale, prospective studies are necessary to validate their clinical utility and establish guidelines for their integration into routine surveillance. A multi-biomarker approach combining exosomal miRNAs, ctDNA, and PSA may provide the most effective strategy for personalized prostate cancer monitoring.

Keywords:  biochemical recurrence; biomarker; circulating tumor DNA; early detection; exosomal microRNAs; liquid biopsy; minimal residual disease; prostate cancer; radical prostatectomy

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000046239
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2025 Jul;2025 1-4

Scalable Exosome Isolation Platform for Clinical-Scale Therapeutics: Bridging Gaps in Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine.

Nusrat Praween, Krishna Thej Pammi Guru, Palash Kumar Basu.

Exosomes are essential for facilitating intercellular communication. The importance of these molecules lies in the fact that they can transport bioactive molecules across cells, influencing critical physiological processes such as immune responses, tissue repair, and cell proliferation. In addition to their physiological roles, exosomes are also involved in various pathological conditions, including carcinoma, respiratory, neurodegeneration and cardiovascular diseases. They can convey signals that may promote tumor growth, metastasis, or immune evasion in cancer. This study suggests a unique scalable platform for effective exosome isolation based on functionalised SiO2 wafers. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with diameters of 20 nm and 60 nm were synthesized and deposited on SiO2 wafers before being PEGylated and conjugated with antibodies. The platform successfully isolated exosomes employing antibodies against CD9, CD81, and CD63, with CD63-coated wafers providing the most exosomes, in accordance with their abundance on the exosomal surface. NTA revealed the presence of exosomes. A 1 cm x 1 cm SiO2 wafers successfully isolated 3.3 x 108 exosomes from 100 µL serum. A 2 cm x 2 cm wafer demonstrated a significant increase in isolation efficiency, capturing 7.2 x 108 exosomes from 200 µL serum, highlighting the scalability and potential for high-throughput exosome isolation using this platform. The average size of isolated exosomes ranged from 40 to 150 nm. This scalable technology offers a promising alternative to ultracentrifugation for exosome isolation. It has potential uses in the delivery of drugs and other biomedical fields.Clinical Relevance- This work enables scalable exosome isolation, critical for advancing therapies in drug delivery, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and regenerative medicine.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC58623.2025.11254600
Discov Oncol. 2025 Dec 02.

Exosomal TACSTD2 promotes invasion, metastasis and glycolysis in ovarian cancer.

Qisheng Cheng, Xinyuan Zhang, Joseph Adu-Amankwaah, Yanyu Li, Meng Wang, Jingbo Zhang, Qing Wang, Xueyan Zhou, Zeyuan Yin, Bei Zhang.

   BACKGROUND: Tumour-derived exosomes are involved in various cancer processes, including invasion, metastasis, and tumour microenvironment (TME) remodelling. However, the function and mechanism of exosomes in ovarian cancer (OC) are still under investigation. The present study investigated the effects of tumour-derived exosomes on the carcinogenesis and progression of OC.
METHODS: OC gene expression profiles were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and two independent Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE7463 and GSE12470). The exosome related genes were obtained by intersecting with OC related exosomes in the ExoCarta database, subsequently, the exosome genes of interst were identified through performing survival analysis in the GEPIA database.The expression of genes selected were validated in OC cell lines (SKOV3, OVCAR3 and A2780) and ascites of OC patients through western blot and PCR. And further knockdown and overexpression of this gene were performed in OC cells to detect their effects on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Subsequently, the potential biological functions and regulatory mechanisms were explored based on the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), and changes in relevant target proteins were validated through western blot. Furthermore, SKOV3-luc + cells were injected intraperitoneally into female BALB/c nude mice to construct an in orthotopic xenograft mouse model, in order to evaluate the effect of differential genes on in vivo OC.
RESULTS: Based on the results of bioinformatics analysis, TACSTD2 was selected for experimental validation. Cell function experiments verified that exosomal TACSTD2 promoted proliferation and metastasis by mediating glycolysis in OC. Animal experiments indicated that exosomal TACSTD2 promoted abdominal metastasis in OC. The in vitro and in vivo experimental results were consistent with the bioinformatics analysis.
CONCLUSION: TACSTD2, which can be detected in ovarian cancer-derived exosomes, plays an important role in the invasion, migration and glycolysis in ovarian cancer. Furthermore, we have discovered that TACSTD2 may promote the progression of ovarian cancer by regulating glycolysis. Further research will enable its potentially prognostic marker and therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

Keywords:  Exosomes; Glycolysis; Metastasis; Ovarian cancer; TACSTD2

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-04041-6
Mol Cancer. 2025 Dec 06.

Extracellular vesicles cargo orchestration in colorectal cancer: immune evasion, stromal remodeling, and therapeutic frontiers.

Yukang Lu, Xiulan Liu, Tingting Zhang, Meijin Liu, Xiaoyan Liu, Jinyou Qiu, Linghan Zhang, Zhenzhen Wen.

  Extracellular vesicles (EVs), as pivotal "messengers" in intercellular communication within the tumor microenvironment (TME), play multifaceted regulatory roles in the initiation, progression, and therapeutic response of colorectal cancer (CRC). This review focuses on the roles of EVs in CRC progression, including the creation of an immunosuppressive microenvironment and the modulation of other cells within the TME. Additionally, the article briefly discusses the potential biomarker value of EVs for early diagnosis and metastasis prediction. Furthermore, several therapeutic strategies employing EVs for CRC treatment are introduced, such as adjuvant immunotherapy, the use of stem cell-derived EVs, and engineered EVs. In this context, we emphasize the limitations and challenges of EV-based research and explore the future prospects of this field, aiming towards the realization of its practical application in the precise diagnosis and treatment of CRC.

Keywords:  Colorectal cancer; Engineered extracellular vesicles; Extracellular vesicles; Immunosuppression; Therapeutic strategies; Tumor microenvironment

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-025-02532-2
Cureus. 2025 Oct;17(10): e95609

Exosomes as Central Mediators of Host-Pathogen Interactions in Periodontitis: A Systematic Literature Review.

Goda Marija Dabkeviciute, Albertas Kriauciunas.

  Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that compromises the periodontium and is among the most prevalent oral conditions worldwide. Recent studies highlight exosomes - small extracellular vesicles carrying nucleic acids, lipids, metabolites, and proteins - as key mediators of intercellular communication contributing to disease progression. The objective of this review was to systematically analyze the existing scientific literature regarding the role of exosomes in the pathogenesis of periodontitis. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. The study question was formulated using the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) framework: "Do exosomes contribute to the pathogenesis of periodontitis?". A literature search was performed in PubMed and ScienceDirect databases for articles published between 2015 and 2025. Inclusion criteria were restricted to original research, written in English, involving human participants or human-derived samples that explicitly focused on exosomes in the context of periodontitis. Out of 1,000 identified records, 106 full-text articles were screened, and six met the inclusion criteria. The included studies investigated salivary, gingival, or periodontal ligament stem cell-derived exosomes and reported their roles in pyroptosis, macrophage polarization, angiogenesis, and immune modulation. Key findings demonstrated that the downregulation of exosomal miR-223-3p enhanced NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis, while exosomal miR-143-3p promoted M1 macrophage polarization via the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, exosomal VEGFA regulated by miR-17-5p promoted angiogenesis, and salivary exosomes exhibited immune-related protein cargo, decreased tetraspanins (CD9, CD81), and elevated PD-L1 mRNA in advanced disease. Collectively, this review underscores the ability of exosomes to transport diverse molecular cargo and influence recipient cell behavior, highlighting their role as mediators of intercellular communication in periodontal inflammation.

Keywords:  cell behaviour; exosomes; immune cells; inflammatory factors; mrna; periodontitis

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.95609