title: Stem cell-derived exosomes: roles in stromal remodeling, tumor progression, and cancer immunotherapy.
abstract: Stem cells are known to maintain stemness at least in part through secreted factors that promote stem-like phenotypes in resident cells. Accumulating evidence has clarified that stem cells release nano-vesicles, known as exosomes, which may serve as mediators of cell-to-cell communication and may potentially transmit stem cell phenotypes to recipient cells, facilitating stem cell maintenance, differentiation, self-renewal, and repair. It has become apparent that stem cell-derived exosomes mediate interactions among stromal elements, promote genetic instability in recipient cells, and induce malignant transformation. This review will therefore discuss the potential of stem cell-derived exosomes in the context of stromal remodeling and their ability to generate cancer-initiating cells in a tumor niche by inducing morphologic and functional differentiation of fibroblasts into tumor-initiating fibroblasts. In addition, the immunosuppressive potential of stem cell-derived exosomes in cancer immunotherapy and their prospective applications in cell-free therapies in future translational medicine is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil. farah@usp.br.|Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, University of Gothenburg, 480, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden. farah@usp.br.
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fatima
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Ribeirao Preto, University of Sao Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil. nawaz@usp.br.|Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, University of Gothenburg, 480, 40530, Gothenburg, Sweden. nawaz@usp.br.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nawaz
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D002450:Cell Communication; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D018450:Disease Progression; D055354:Exosomes / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology; D001678:Organelle Biogenesis; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment