Extracellular Vesicle in Cancer Biology

Dear Colleagues, 

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) consist of a very heterogeneous group of small, membrane-derived particles whose size ranges from 50–150 nm in diameter (so-called exosomes) up to 1 mm (microvesicles, MVs). EVs can be isolated from different body fluids such as serum and plasma, saliva, urine, breast milk and cerebrospinal fluid. For this reason, the EV cargo, consisting of DNA, RNA (including non-coding RNA), lipids and proteins, can be considered potential liquid biopsy biomarkers in many diseases, particularly for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and to define metastatic status and recurrences.

Moreover, the biologically active molecules present in the EVs can be transferred from a “donor cell” (secreting EVs) to a “recipient cell” where the EV cargo can modulate gene expression, hence regulating their physiological status. EVs can also regulate several oncogenic processes, including tumor initiation, progression and metastasis, inducing, for example, angiogenesis, recruitment of cancer-associated fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix remodeling. All these features make EVs very important cell-to-cell mediators.

This Special Issue of Cancers will present and discuss original articles and review manuscripts aimed at investigating EV cargo identification and accurate functional characterization; the role of EVs and their cargos as mediators of cell communication at the microenvironment level; mechanisms of cargo recruitment, sorting and transfer to recipient cells; EV structural analyses; and the role of EV cargo as potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis.

Dr. Lucia Casadei
Dr. Federica Calore
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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