Significance of exosomes in hepatocellular carcinoma

ESCRT may function as a tumor biomarker, transitioning from pan-cancer analysis to validation within breast cancer

Background

Studies have shown that ESCRT genes affect cell aging, immune environment, and tumors. BRCA was used to explore its effects on tumor prognosis and therapy.

Methods

The data sets of Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genome-Tissue Expression Plan (GTEX), Human Protein Mapping (HPA), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), R software package, and bioinformatics methods were used to mine the potential carcinogenic effects of ESCRT, including the expression level, prognostic value, and immune value of ESCRT in various types of tumor tissues, and the potential function of ESCRT family genes was further verified in breast cancer.

Results

ESCRT showed significant differential expression in various cancers, such as bladder urothelial carcinoma and liver, cervical, renal, esophageal, head, and neck cancers (P <0.05). Abnormal ESCRT expression is associated with poor prognosis in various cancers, such as adrenocortical carcinoma, bladder urothelial carcinoma, breast cancer, and cervical cancer (P <0.05). The expression level of ESCRT was significantly associated with immune cell infiltration and the modulation of the stromal/immune score (all P <0.05). Enrichment analysis showed that ESCRT is associated with immune-related functions and transport signaling pathways in various tumor cells. Moreover, ESCRT serves as an early diagnostic marker for several tumors and is significantly associated with prognosis. This confirms that ESCRT is associated with most immune-infiltrating cells in pan-carcinomas. Taken together, these studies highlight the importance of the ESCRT family gene VPS37D in breast cancer initiation, progression, and immune response.

Conclusion

This study highlights ESCRT's potential in tumor detection via pan-cancer analysis, showing expression variations between tumor and normal tissues, its role in cancer progression through the immune microenvironment, and its specificity and sensitivity in detection. The VPS37D gene, with significant variation in breast cancer, predicts patient prognosis and is related to the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that ESCRT is a novel biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis assessment.

Extracellular Vesicles, Circadian Rhythms, and Cancer: A Comprehensive Review with Emphasis on Hepatocellular Carcinoma

This review comprehensively explores the complex interplay between extracellular vesicles (ECVs)/exosomes and circadian rhythms, with a focus on the role of this interaction in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Exosomes are nanovesicles derived from cells that facilitate intercellular communication by transporting bioactive molecules such as proteins, lipids, and RNA/DNA species. ECVs are implicated in a range of diseases, where they play crucial roles in signaling between cells and their surrounding environment. In the setting of cancer, ECVs are known to influence cancer initiation and progression. The scope of this review extends to all cancer types, synthesizing existing knowledge on the various roles of ECVs. A unique aspect of this review is the emphasis on the circadian-controlled release and composition of exosomes, highlighting their potential as biomarkers for early cancer detection and monitoring metastasis. We also discuss how circadian rhythms affect multiple cancer-related pathways, proposing that disruptions in the circadian clock can alter tumor development and treatment response. Additionally, this review delves into the influence of circadian clock components on ECV biogenesis and their impact on reshaping the tumor microenvironment, a key component driving HCC progression. Finally, we address the potential clinical applications of ECVs, particularly their use as diagnostic tools and drug delivery vehicles, while considering the challenges associated with clinical implementation.

An emerging research: the role of hepatocellular carcinoma-derived exosomal circRNAs in the immune microenvironment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary malignancy of the liver, is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death and is associated with a poor prognosis. The tumor microenvironment (TME) of HCC comprises immune, immunosuppressive, and interstitial cells with hypoxic, angiogenic, metabolic reprogramming, inflammatory, and immunosuppressive features. Exosomes are nanoscale extracellular vesicles that secrete biologically active signaling molecules such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), microribonucleic acid (miRNA), proteins, and lipids. These signaling molecules act as messengers in the tumor microenvironment, especially the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Exosomal circRNAs reshape the tumor microenvironment by prompting hypoxic stress response, stimulating angiogenesis, contributing to metabolic reprogramming, facilitating inflammatory changes in the HCC cells and inducing tumor immunosuppression. The exosomes secreted by HCC cells carry circRNA into immune cells, which intervene in the activation of immune cells and promote the overexpression of immune checkpoints to regulate immune response, leading tumor cells to acquire immunosuppressive properties. Furthermore, immunosuppression is the final result of a combination of TME-related factors, including hypoxia, angiogenesis, metabolic reprogramming, and inflammation changes. In conclusion, exosomal circRNA accelerates the tumor progression by adjusting the phenotype of the tumor microenvironment and ultimately forming an immunosuppressive microenvironment. HCC-derived exosomal circRNA can affect HCC cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and induction of chemoresistance. Therefore, this review aimed to summarize the composition and function of these exosomes, the role that HCC-derived exosomal circRNAs play in microenvironment formation, and the interactions between exosomes and immune cells. This review outlines the role of exosomal circRNAs in the malignant phenotype of HCC and provides a preliminary exploration of the clinical utility of exosomal circRNAs.