Extracellular vesicles as biomarkers in malignant pleural mesothelioma: A review

Our plain-English summary of Extracellular vesicles as biomarkers in malignant pleural mesothelioma: A review, by T. Ahmadzada, S. Kao, G. Reid, et al (Critical Reviews in Oncology/hematology, 2020).

The study

• Authors: T. Ahmadzada, S. Kao, G. Reid, S. Clarke, G.E. Grau, E. Hosseini-Beheshti
• Journal: Critical Reviews in Oncology/hematology
• Published: 2020;150:102949
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 27 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are secreted by all cells, including cancer cells, as a mode of intercellular transport and communication. The main types of EV known to date include exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies, as well as oncosomes and large oncosomes, which are specific to cancer cells. These different EV populations carry specific cargo from one cell to another to stimulate a specific response. They can be found in all body fluids and can be detected in liquid biopsies. EV released from mesothelioma cells can reveal important information about the molecules and signalling pathways involved in the development and progression of the tumour. The presence of tumour-derived EV in circulating body fluids makes them potential novel biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognostication and surveillance of cancer. In this review, we explore the characteristics and functional roles of EV reported in the literature, with a focus on their role in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In plain English

This article is a review, not a new study. The authors examined published research on extracellular vesicles, tiny membrane-wrapped particles that cells release, as possible biomarkers for malignant pleural mesothelioma. They reported that a PubMed search found only 22 relevant papers out of around 20,000 on extracellular vesicles. Of these, 18 focused on exosomes and four on apoptosis, and none were specifically on microvesicles or oncosomes. In one study they described, two microRNAs in vesicles from plasma distinguished cancer-free people with past asbestos exposure from those who had developed the disease. In another, certain proteins were raised in vesicles from mice orally exposed to asbestos. Other reviewed studies linked mesothelioma vesicles to immune evasion and tested them in experimental vaccines in mice. The authors noted that studies are limited, vesicle naming is not standardized, isolation methods lack consensus and measuring technology is lacking. The authors concluded that the vesicles offer a novel, non-invasive means of uncovering mesothelioma biomarkers.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of published literature
• Who was studied: Published studies on extracellular vesicles and mesothelioma. A combined PubMed search found 22 relevant papers out of around 20,000 on extracellular vesicles. 18 focused on exosomes and four investigated apoptosis in malignant pleural mesothelioma. None were specifically on microvesicles or oncosomes. Search dates and criteria are not described in detail.
• Exposure: The subject reviewed is extracellular vesicles (exosomes, microvesicles, apoptotic bodies, oncosomes and large oncosomes) released by mesothelioma cells. Some reviewed studies involved asbestos-exposed mice or cells. No fiber type is named for these studies.
• Main results:
  • The authors grouped the available studies into three types: characterisation of exosomes from mesothelioma cell lines, the functional role of mesothelioma-derived exosomes in immune response and cell behaviour, and the immunotherapeutic potential of mesothelioma-derived vesicles.
  • No studies were found specifically on microvesicles or oncosomes in malignant pleural mesothelioma.
  • As described in the review, Cavalleri et al. found that miR-103a-3p and miR-30e-3p in vesicles from plasma distinguished cancer-free people with past asbestos exposure from those who had developed malignant pleural mesothelioma. The review's table lists plasma, n = 42.
  • As described in the review, Munson et al. (2018b) found that ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin and fibulin-1 were elevated in serum exosomes from mice orally exposed to asbestos.
  • As described in the review, Munson et al. (2018a) added exosomes from asbestos-exposed lung epithelial cells and macrophages to healthy human mesothelial cells, and this changed gene expression in those cells.
  • As described in the review, Clayton et al. reported that exosomes from the pleural effusion of mesothelioma patients carried NKG2D ligands and TGF beta 1. These suppressed the NKG2D-dependent killing function of natural killer (NK) cells.
  • As described in the review, in one study exosomes from freshly obtained pleural fluid of mesothelioma patients accounted for 20% of the total ATP-hydrolytic activity.
  • As described in the review, Mahaweni et al. gave mesothelioma-bearing mice dendritic cells loaded with mesothelioma exosomes. These mice survived longer than untreated mice.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that extracellular vesicles provide a novel and non-invasive means of uncovering biomarkers in malignant pleural mesothelioma. They added that although methods are not yet optimised, the evidence supports further investigation, particularly of microvesicles, oncosomes and apoptotic bodies.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • There are limited studies to date on extracellular vesicles specifically in malignant pleural mesothelioma.
  • Different vesicle classes overlap in size and surface markers, which makes them hard to tell apart.
  • There is no general consensus on the best method for isolating each vesicle subtype with high purity.
  • Technologies to characterise and quantify extracellular vesicles are lacking.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Biomarker, Pleural Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma.

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• Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of the Extracellular Vesicles Subpopulations Present in Pleural Effusion — J. Javadi, A. Görgens, et al. (2021)
• Small and Large Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Pleural Mesothelioma Cell Lines Offer Biomarker Potential — T. Ahmadzada, A. Vijayan, et al. (2023)
• Ferroptosis-dependent extracellular vesicles from macrophage contribute to asbestos-induced mesothelial carcinogenesis through loading ferritin — F. Ito, K. Kato, et al. (2021)
• Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from Malignant Mesothelioma Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Induce Pro-Oncogenic Changes in Healthy Mesothelial Cells — T. Chernova, S. Grosso, et al. (2022)
• Plasmatic extracellular vesicle microRNAs in malignant pleural mesothelioma and asbestos-exposed subjects suggest a 2-miRNA signature as potential biomarker of disease — T. Cavalleri, L. Angelici, et al. (2017)

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