Title:Exosome-Encapsulated microRNAs as Potential Circulating Biomarkers in Colon Cancer
Volume: 23
Issue: 11
Author(s): Mina Hosseini, Sara Khatamianfar, Seyed Mahdi Hassanian, Reza Nedaeinia, Mojtaba Shafiee, Mina Maftouh, Majid Ghayour-Mobarhan, Soodabeh ShahidSales*Amir Avan*
Affiliation:
- Cancer Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad,Iran
- Molecular Medicine Group, Department of Modern Sciences and Technologies; Cancer Research Center; School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad,Iran
Keywords:
microRNAs, Exosomes, biomarkers, colorectal cancer.
Abstract: Exosome-encapsulated microRNAs are being suggested as a new class novel biomarker as diagnostic
and predictive markers in colorectal cancer. These particles are released from many cell types into the extracellular
space upon fusion of multivesicular bodies (MVB) with the plasma membrane. They contain a wide variety of
information, including proteins, lipids, RNAs, non-transcribed RNAs, microRNAs, which can be circulated in
various body fluids (e.g., blood, salvia, ascites, urine). Exosomes can be taken up by neighboring or distant cells
and thereby modulate the functional of recipient cells and play a key role in disease progression or facilitate metastasis
in cancers. The aim of current review is to give an overview about origin and trafficking of exosomes
between cells, techniques to isolate exosomal microRNAs as well as the potential applications of exosomeencapsulated
microRNAs as diagnostic markers in clinical settings in colorectal cancer. There is growing body of
evidence showing the prognostic and diagnostic value of some exosomal microRNAs in colon cancer (e.g., miR-
150, miR-21, miR-192, let-7a, miR-223, and miR-23a). These findings provide a new insight on novel application
of these markers as being novel non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and risk assessment of patients with
colorectal cancer, although further investigations in larger population are required to explore the clinical utility of
exosomal microRNAs in colorectal cancer patients.
