Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Exosomes on Cancer
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (7 December 2021) | Viewed by 704
Special Issue Editor
Interests: precision medicine; regenerative medicine; biosensors; exosomes; stem cell; biomaterials; 3D printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and exosomes are competent actors of cellular therapy thanks to their therapeutic impact on tissue degeneration and immune-based pathologies. Additionally, their homing and immunomodulatory properties can be exploited in cancer malignancies to transport pharmacological entities, produce anti-neoplastic agents, or induce antitumor immunity. The promising potential of MSCs and exosomes can be extended not only to cancer management but also to instigating tumor-specific immunity—i.e., cancer vaccination. Several authors have described their antitumorigenic functions, such as:
- Enhancement of the immune response;
- Regulation of cellular signaling;
- Inhibition of angiogenesis;
- Induction of apoptosis in cancer cells.
By contrast, the interactions between tumor cells and the no-malignant stromal and immune cells that make up the tumor microenvironment are critical to the pathophysiology of cancer. In some cases, they could support tumor growth by means of:
- Differentiation into other protumorigenic stromal components;
- Suppression of the immune response;
- Promotion of angiogenesis;
- Enhancement of an epithelial–mesenchymaltransition (EMT);
- Enrichment of cancerstem-like cells;
- Increase in tumor cell survival;
- Promotion of tumor metastasis.
In light of such consideration, further work is required to delineate the complex crosstalk between MSCs or exosomes and tumor microenvironment in order to assess their impact on cancer initiation, growth, and spread.
Dr. Barbara Zavan
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- MSC
- exosomes
- angiogenesis
- tumor microenvironment
- epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)
- metastasis
- cancer stem-like cells
- immunomodulation
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