Glycosylation of Cancer Extracellular Vesicles: Capture Strategies, Functional Roles and Potential Clinical Applications

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2021

Authors

Martins, AM (Author) Other; Ramos, CC (Author) Other; Freitas, D (Author) Other; Celso Reis (Author) ICBAS

Journal

Title: Cells

Vol. 10

Final page: 109

ISSN: 2073-4409

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 21 Citations

Scopus - 23 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00T-DK6

DOI: 10.3390/cells10010109

Abstract (EN): Glycans are major constituents of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Alterations in the glycosylation pathway are a common feature of cancer cells, which gives rise to de novo or increased synthesis of particular glycans. Therefore, glycans and glycoproteins have been widely used in the clinic as both stratification and prognosis cancer biomarkers. Interestingly, several of the known tumor-associated glycans have already been identified in cancer EVs, highlighting EV glycosylation as a potential source of circulating cancer biomarkers. These particles are crucial vehicles of cell-cell communication, being able to transfer molecular information and to modulate the recipient cell behavior. The presence of particular glycoconjugates has been described to be important for EV protein sorting, uptake and organ-tropism. Furthermore, specific EV glycans or glycoproteins have been described to be able to distinguish tumor EVs from benign EVs. In this review, the application of EV glycosylation in the development of novel EV detection and capture methodologies is discussed. In addition, we highlight the potential of EV glycosylation in the clinical setting for both cancer biomarker discovery and EV therapeutic delivery strategies.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 25