The Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Cancer

Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanometer-sized bag-like substances released by cells. Their role is gradually being elucidated, and recently they are thought to be involved in the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells. EVs contain various proteins, and their types as well as amounts are known to differ in lung cancer patients; however, this difference did not reflect the type or nature of the cancer cells, and it was unclear what kind of cells EVs were released from. It has long been known that sugar chains, which are sometimes referres to as the “face of a cell”, have different shapes depending on the type of cell. The shape of this sugar chain is copied almost unchanged into EVs. In cancer research, it has been revealed that they are involved in cancer metastasis, and they are attracting attention as a research subject. EVs enclose cellular proteins, DNA, mRNA, microRNA, or other nucleic acids in their small bags, and transmit information by passing them on to other cells. This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest research on the roles, molecular mechanisms, and therapeutic applications of EVs in cancers. The topics that we intend to cover include (but are not limited to) the following areas:

• EV-based therapy for cancers;
• Immune modulation of antigen presentation through EVs;
• Molecular regulation of immune responses through EVs;
• Therapeutic targets via EVs in cancers.

We invite submissions of both research and review articles and look forward to receiving your contributions.  

Dr. Yasunari Matsuzaka
Guest Editor

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