Microvesicles: messengers and mediators of tumor progression

K Al-Nedawi, B Meehan, J Rak - Cell cycle, 2009 - Taylor & Francis
K Al-Nedawi, B Meehan, J Rak
Cell cycle, 2009Taylor & Francis
Cellular interactions play a crucial role in progression, angiogenesis and invasiveness of
tumors, including glioma. The traditionally accepted view is that medium and long-range
cellular communications occur primarily through gradients of soluble ligands, recognizable
by the cell-associated receptors. Recent findings, however, suggest the existence of another
mode of intercellular communication, where the 'units' of information are microvesicles
containing a multitude of biologically active protein and RNA species, including oncogenic …
Cellular interactions play a crucial role in progression, angiogenesis and invasiveness of tumors, including glioma. The traditionally accepted view is that medium and long-range cellular communications occur primarily through gradients of soluble ligands, recognizable by the cell-associated receptors. Recent findings, however, suggest the existence of another mode of intercellular communication, where the ‘units’ of information are microvesicles containing a multitude of biologically active protein and RNA species, including oncogenic receptors, such as EGFRvIII. Moreover, microvesicles can be retrieved from the circulating blood of cancer patients, and reveal the presence of oncogenes in their tumors, thereby potentially serving as information-rich prognostic and predictive biomarkers.
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