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The Role of Exosomes in the Crosstalk between Adipocytes and Liver Cancer Cells
Rios-Colon, L., Arthur, E., Niture, S., Qi, Q., Moore, J. T., & Kumar, D. (2020). The Role of Exosomes in the Crosstalk between Adipocytes and Liver Cancer Cells. Cells, 9(9), Article 1988. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells9091988
Exosomes are membrane-bound extracellular vesicles (EVs) that transport bioactive materials between cells and organs. The cargo delivered by exosomes can alter a wide range of cellular responses in recipient cells and play an important pathophysiological role in human cancers. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), for example, adipocyte- and tumor-secreted factors contained in exosomes contribute to the creation of a chronic inflammatory state, which contributes to disease progression. The exosome-mediated crosstalk between adipocytes and liver cancer cells is a key aspect of a dynamic tumor microenvironment. In this review, we summarize the role of increased adiposity and the role of adipocyte-derived exosomes (AdExos) and HCC-derived exosomes (HCCExos) in the modulation of HCC progression. We also discuss recent advances regarding how malignant cells interact with the surrounding adipose tissue and employ exosomes to promote a more aggressive phenotype.
