title: Circulating exosomes and exosomal microRNAs as biomarkers in gastrointestinal cancer.
abstract: The most important biological function of exosomes is their possible use as biomarkers in clinical diagnosis. Compared with biomarkers identified in conventional specimens such as serum or urine, exosomal biomarkers provide the highest amount of sensitivity and specificity, which can be attributed to their excellent stability. Exosomes, which harbor different types of proteins, nucleic acids and lipids, are present in almost all bodily fluids. The molecular constituents of exosomes, especially exosomal proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs), are promising as biomarkers in clinical diagnosis. This discovery that exosomes also contain messenger RNAs and miRNAs shows that they could be carriers of genetic information. Although the majority of RNAs found in exosomes are degraded RNA fragments with a length of <200 nucleotides, some full-length RNAs might be present that may affect protein production in the recipient cell. In addition, exosomal miRNAs have been found to be associated with certain diseases. Several studies have pointed out miRNA contents of circulating exosomes that are similar to those of originating cancer cells. In this review, the recent advances in circulating exosomal miRNAs as biomarkers in gastrointestinal cancers are discussed. These studies indicated that miRNAs can be detected in exosomes isolated from body fluids such as saliva, which suggests potential advantages of using exosomal miRNAs as noninvasive novel biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.|Department of Medical Biotechnology, Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nedaeinia
authors.affiliation: Immunology Research Center, Department of Immunology, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manian
authors.affiliation: Immunology Research Center, Department of Immunology, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jazayeri
authors.affiliation: Deputy of Food and Drug, Department of Food Control Administration, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ranjbar
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salehi
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1538-9034
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharifi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mohaghegh
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Technology, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goli
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jahednia
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avan
authors.affiliation: Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.|Biochemistry of Nutrition Research Center, Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghayour-Mobarhan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D055354:Exosomes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D035683:MicroRNAs