Extracellular Vesicles as a Platform for Cancer Treatment

Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), small membrane-based nanovesicles naturally released from various cells, have tissue tropism and facilitate long distance intercellular communication by carrying and delivering biological materials, such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. EVs from certain cells, including immune cells, revealed natural anti-tumor activity with specific tumor targetability. Since drugs can be loaded in to EVs, they are also considered as promising drug carriers. Antitumor activity of EVs can be enhanced by meticulous bioengineering techniques, such as loading chemotherapeutic drugs and incorporating tumor-targeting moieties. EV mimetics (EVMs), artificially generated from various cells, are functionally similar to EVs and thus can be a substitute EVs for cancer therapy. Accumulating evidence shows that bio-nanovesicles (EVs and EVMs) can be effective biological armors, since they have huge potential to fight intractable cancers and they might be useful in cancer therapeutics. Scientific interest in bio-nanovesicles may accelerate clinical applications of bio-nanovesicles to cancerous diseases in the near future.

This Special Issue will focus on therapeutic applications of EVs and EVMs for cancerous diseases and on strategies of reinforcing the therapeutic efficacy of bio-nanovesicles.

Prof. Dr. Byeong-Cheol Ahn, MD, PhD
Guest Editor

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