The Role of Extracellular Vesicles in the Progression of Human Neuroblastoma |
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Authors: | Danilo Marimpietri Irma Airoldi Angelo Corso Faini Fabio Malavasi Fabio Morandi |
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Affiliation: | 1.Laboratorio Cellule Staminali Post-Natali e Terapie Cellulari, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genova, Italy; (D.M.); (I.A.);2.Dipartimento Scienze Mediche, Centro Ricerche Medicina Sperimentale (CeRMS) and Fondazione Ricerca Molinette Onlus, Università di Torino, 10121 Torino, Italy; (A.C.F.); (F.M.) |
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Abstract: | The long-underestimated role of extracellular vesicles in cancer is now reconsidered worldwide by basic and clinical scientists, who recently highlighted novel and crucial activities of these moieties. Extracellular vesicles are now considered as king transporters of specific cargoes, including molecular components of parent cells, thus mediating a wide variety of cellular activities both in normal and neoplastic tissues. Here, we discuss the multifunctional activities and underlying mechanisms of extracellular vesicles in neuroblastoma, the most frequent common extra-cranial tumor in childhood. The ability of extracellular vesicles to cross-talk with different cells in the tumor microenvironment and to modulate an anti-tumor immune response, tumorigenesis, tumor growth, metastasis and drug resistance will be pinpointed in detail. The results obtained on the role of extracellular vesicles may represent a panel of suggestions potentially useful in practice, due to their involvement in the response to chemotherapy, and, moreover, their ability to predict resistance to standard therapies—all issues of clinical relevance. |
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Keywords: | neuroblastoma extracellular vesicles tumor progression immune modulation |
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