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Circulating exosomes and exosomal microRNAs as biomarkers in gastrointestinal cancer

Cancer Gene Therapy volume 24, pages 48–56 (2017)Cite this article

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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.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant from Mashhad University of Medical Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    R Nedaeinia

  2. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    R Nedaeinia

  3. Department of Immunology, Immunology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    M Manian & M H Jazayeri

  4. Department of Food Control Administration, Deputy of Food and Drug, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    M Ranjbar

  5. Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    R Salehi & M Sharifi

  6. Department of Radiotherapy, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran

    F Mohaghegh

  7. Department of Food Science and Technology, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

    M Goli

  8. Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    S H Jahednia

  9. Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    A Avan & M Ghayour-Mobarhan

  10. Department of Nutrition, Biochemistry of Nutrition Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    M Ghayour-Mobarhan

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  1. R Nedaeinia
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Correspondence to A Avan or M Ghayour-Mobarhan.

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Nedaeinia, R., Manian, M., Jazayeri, M. et al. Circulating exosomes and exosomal microRNAs as biomarkers in gastrointestinal cancer. Cancer Gene Ther 24, 48–56 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/cgt.2016.77

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/cgt.2016.77

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