Open Access

REVIEW

The role of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes in tumor progression

CARL RANDALL HARREL¹, VALENTIN DJONOV², ANA VOLAREVIC³, DRAGICA PAVLOVIC⁴, VLADISLAV VOLAREVIC^4,5,*

1 Regenerative Processing Plant, LLC, Florida, USA
2 Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
3 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
4 Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia
5 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac, Serbia

* Corresponding Author: VLADISLAV VOLAREVIC. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Extracellular Vesicles and Cancer)

BIOCELL 2023, 47(8), 1757-1769. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2023.028567

Received 25 December 2022; Accepted 08 May 2023; Issue published 28 August 2023

Abstract

Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-Exos) are nano-sized extracellular vesicles enriched with bioactive molecules, such as microRNAs, enzymes, cytokines, chemokines, immunomodulatory, trophic, and growth factors. These molecules regulate the survival, phenotype, and function of malignant and tumor-infiltrated immune cells. Due to their nano-size and bilayer lipid envelope, MSC-Exos can easily bypass biological barriers and may serve as drug carriers to deliver chemotherapeutics directly into the tumor cells. Here, we summarize current knowledge regarding molecular mechanisms responsible for MSC-Exos-dependent modulation of tumor progression and discuss insights regarding the therapeutic potential of MSC-Exos in the treatment of malignant diseases.

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