The formation and maintenance of renal cell carcinomas (RCC) involve many cell types, such as cancer stem and differentiated cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts and immune cells. These all contribute to the creation of a favorable tumor microenvironment to promote tumor growth and metastasis. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered to be efficient messengers that facilitate the exchange of information within the different tumor cell types. Indeed, tumor EVs display features of their originating cells and force recipient cells towards a pro-tumorigenic phenotype. This review summarizes the recent knowledge related to the biological role of EVs, shed by renal tumor cells and renal cancer stem cells in different aspects of RCC progression, such as angiogenesis, immune escape and tumor growth. Moreover, a specific role for renal cancer stem cell derived EVs is described in the formation of the pre-metastatic niche. We also highlight the tumor EV cargo, especially the oncogenic miRNAs, which are involved in these processes. Finally, the circulating miRNAs appear to be a promising source of biomarkers in RCC.
International journal of molecular sciences. 2019 Apr 13*** epublish ***
Cristina Grange, Alessia Brossa, Benedetta Bussolati
Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, via Nizza 52, 10126 Turin, Italy. ., Molecular Biotechnology Centre, University of Turin, via Nizza 52, 10126 Turin, Italy. ., Molecular Biotechnology Centre, University of Turin, via Nizza 52, 10126 Turin, Italy. .