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Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small, membrane-bound structures released by various cell types into the extracellular environment. Exosomes, microparticles and apoptotic bodies, which differ in composition, biogenesis and size, belong to this family.

EVs have emerged as key players in the pathogenesis of various diseases, influencing disease progression and contributing to intercellular communication within the microenvironment. These small membrane-bound structures carry a cargo of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, including microRNAs, which can regulate gene expression in recipient cells. Recently, several studies have evaluated the exciting prospect of using EVs as therapeutic targets. Modulating the biogenesis, release and content of EVs may offer promising therapeutic avenues.

With this Special Issue, we invite researchers to contribute with either original research (both in vivo or in vitro studies) or review articles focusing on EVs in the pathogenesis of disease and their potential role as therapeutic targets.

Dr. Tommaso Neri
Guest Editor

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (1 paper)

Research

12 pages, 3907 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exosomal Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) and Caveolin-1 as Potential Biomarkers of Prostate Cancer—Evidence from Serbian Population

by Suzana Matijašević Joković, Aleksandra Korać, Sanja Kovačević, Ana Djordjević, Lidija Filipović, Zorana Dobrijević, Miloš Brkušanin, Dušanka Savić-Pavićević, Ivan Vuković, Milica Popović and Goran Brajušković

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(6), 3533; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms25063533 - 21 Mar 2024

Viewed by 629

Abstract

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and caveolin-1 are membrane proteins that are overexpressed in prostate cancer (PCa) and are involved in tumor growth and increase in aggressiveness. The aim of the present study is therefore to evaluate PSMA and caveolin-1 proteins from plasma exosomes as effective liquid biopsy biomarkers for PCa. This study included 39 patients with PCa and 33 with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The shape and size of the exosomes were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Immunogold analysis showed that PSMA is localized to the membrane of exosomes isolated from the plasma of both groups of participants. The relative protein levels of PSMA and caveolin-1 in the plasma exosomes of PCa and BPH patients were determined by Western blot analysis. The relative level of the analyzed plasma exosomal proteins was compared between PCa and BPH patients and the relevance of the exosomal PSMA and caveoin-1 level to the clinicopathological parameters in PCa was investigated. The analysis performed showed an enrichment of exosomal PSMA in the plasma of PCa patients compared to the exosomes of men with BPH. The level of exosomal caveolin-1 in plasma was significantly higher in PCa patients with high PSA levels, clinical-stage T3 or T4 and in the group of PCa patients with aggressive PCa compared to favorable clinicopathological features or tumor aggressiveness. Plasma exosomes may serve as a suitable object for the identification of potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prognosis of PCa as well as carriers of therapeutic agents in precision medicine of PCa treatment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Extracellular Vesicles in the Pathogenesis of Disease and Their Potential Role as Therapeutic Targets)

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