Nucleic acids and proteins carried by exosomes of different origins as potential biomarkers for gynecologic cancers

Miaomiao Ye; Jing Wang; Shuya Pan; Lihong Zheng; Zhi-Wei Wang; Xueqiong Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.omto.2021.12.005

Nucleic acids and proteins carried by exosomes of different origins as potential biomarkers for gynecologic cancers

Mol Ther Oncolytics. 2021 Dec 9:24:101-113. doi: 10.1016/j.omto.2021.12.005. eCollection 2022 Mar 17.

Authors

Miaomiao Ye¹, Jing Wang¹, Shuya Pan¹, Lihong Zheng¹, Zhi-Wei Wang¹, Xueqiong Zhu¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, No. 109 Xueyuan Xi Road, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325027, China.

Abstract

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles with a diameter of 30-150 nm that function in mediating intercellular communication and intercellular material exchange. The liposomal membrane of exosomes protects the cargo carried by exosomes from degradation and assists in transporting cargo to recipient cells to regulate a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The incidence of gynecologic cancers is increasing annually, which is extremely harmful to the lives and health of women because such cancers are challenging to detect at the early stage. Recently, exosomes have emerged as novel biomarkers for diagnosing and predicting the development of gynecologic cancers. In particular, non-coding RNAs (microRNAs [miRNAs], long non-coding RNAs [lncRNAs], and circular RNAs [circRNAs]) carried by exosomes have been extensively investigated in gynecologic cancers. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to focus on the potential roles of exosomes of different origins in ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial cancer, which will help to determine the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis.

Keywords: cervical cancer; endometrial cancer; exosomes; nucleic acids; ovarian cancer; proteins.

Publication types

Review