Platelets in cancer development and diagnosis

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 1517-1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annalisa Contursi ◽  
Rosalia Grande ◽  
Melania Dovizio ◽  
Annalisa Bruno ◽  
Rosa Fullone ◽  
...  

Platelets are involved in the development and progression of cancer through several mechanisms. Platelet activation at the site of tissue damage contributes to the initiation of a cascade of events which promote tumorigenesis. In fact, platelets release a wide array of proteins, including growth and angiogenic factors, lipids and extracellular vesicles rich in genetic material, which can mediate the induction of phenotypic changes in target cells, such as immune, stromal and tumor cells, and promote carcinogenesis and metastasis formation. Importantly, the role of platelets in tumor immune escape has been described. These lines of evidence open the way to novel strategies to fight cancer based on the use of antiplatelet agents. In addition to their ability to release factors, platelets are able of up-taking proteins and genetic material present in the bloodstream. Platelets are like ‘sentinels’ of the disease state. The evaluation of proteomics and transcriptomics signature of platelets and platelet-derived microparticles could represent a new strategy for the development of biomarkers for early cancer detection and/or therapeutic drug monitoring in cancer chemotherapy. Owing to the ability of platelets to interact with cancer cells and to deliver their cargo, platelets have been proposed as a ‘biomimetic drug delivery system’ for anti-tumor drugs to prevent the occurrence of off-target adverse events associated with the use of traditional chemotherapy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 4132-4137
Author(s):  
Nhat Chau Truong ◽  
Thao Nhi Huynh ◽  
Khuong Duy Pham ◽  
Phuc Van Pham

Exosomes are small vesicles secreted by viable cells into the microenvironment. These vesicles bring various compositions, including lipids, RNAs and proteins, which carry information from producer cells to target cells. Cancer cells also produce exosomes, termed as tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs), which play important roles in immune modulation, angiogenesis and metastasis of tumors. This review summarizes the roles of TDEs in tumor immune escape mechanisms. TDEs affect all kinds of tumor-associated immune cells, including natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DCs), T and B lymphocytes, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Generally, TDEs suppress the immune system to promote tumor immune escape, thereby significantly contributing to tumorigenesis and metastasis.


2021 ◽  
pp. canres.1466.2021
Author(s):  
Michaël Cerezo ◽  
Caroline Robert ◽  
Lunxu Liu ◽  
Shensi Shen

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianjie Jiang ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Xiangying Deng ◽  
Fang Xiong ◽  
Junshang Ge ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sevindzh Kletukhina ◽  
Olga Neustroeva ◽  
Victoria James ◽  
Albert Rizvanov ◽  
Marina Gomzikova

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process that takes place during embryonic development, wound healing, and under some pathological processes, including fibrosis and tumor progression. The molecular changes occurring within epithelial cells during transformation to a mesenchymal phenotype have been well studied. However, to date, the mechanism of EMT induction remains to be fully elucidated. Recent findings in the field of intercellular communication have shed new light on this process and indicate the need for further studies into this important mechanism. New evidence supports the hypothesis that intercellular communication between mesenchymal stroma/stem cells (MSCs) and resident epithelial cells plays an important role in EMT induction. Besides direct interactions between cells, indirect paracrine interactions by soluble factors and extracellular vesicles also occur. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important mediators of intercellular communication, through the transfer of biologically active molecules, genetic material (mRNA, microRNA, siRNA, DNA), and EMT inducers to the target cells, which are capable of reprogramming recipient cells. In this review, we discuss the role of intercellular communication by EVs to induce EMT and the acquisition of stemness properties by normal and tumor epithelial cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2.1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Ling Cao ◽  
Xiaoliang Yuan

Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 9 (Siglec-9) is a receptor that expresses on the surface of immune cells. It plays an important role in the body’s immune response. Increased expression of Siglec-9 has been reported in infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer. Pathogenic microorganism and tumor cells can inhibit the recognition and killing of immune cells by upregulating their own specific sialic acid and binding with Siglec-9 on the surface of host immune cells, and suppress the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and promote the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines, eventually leading to immunosuppression, tumor immune escape and the like. However, the immunosuppressive function of Siglec-9 may be advantageous for diseases such as neutrophil asthma and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, further research on the mechanism of action of Siglec-9 is of great significance.


2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (01) ◽  
pp. 51-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Castellana ◽  
C. Kunzelmann ◽  
J.-M. Freyssinet

SummaryMicrovesicles (MV) are submicrometric membrane fragments (0.1 to 1 μm), released from the plasma membrane of activated or apoptotic cells. They are characterized by most of the antigenic profile of the cells they originate from, and by the presence of procoagulant phospholipids at their surface. MV are detectable in the peripheral blood of mammals and considered as efficient effectors in the haemostatic or thrombotic responses, able to remotely initiate or amplify beneficial or deleterious processes, depending on the circumstances. Variations in their level and pheno-type make them relevant pathogenic markers of thrombotic disorders and vascular damage. To date, MV are recognized as mediators of communication allowing cells to influence a target present in the local microenvironment as well as to at distant sites. The mechanisms by which MV interact with target cells are still unclear, but a number of studies suggest involvement of MV-cell fusion or ligand-receptor interactions. More importantly, MV have been shown implicated in horizontal transfer of genetic material. This review focuses on the role of MV in the context of cancer, and their possible part in cancer associated thrombosis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Raimondo ◽  
Marzia Pucci ◽  
Riccardo Alessandro ◽  
Simona Fontana

The modulation of the immune system is one of the hallmarks of cancer. It is now widely described that cancer cells are able to evade the immune response and thus establish immune tolerance. The exploration of the mechanisms underlying this ability of cancer cells has always attracted the scientific community and is the basis for the development of new promising cancer therapies. Recent evidence has highlighted how extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a mechanism by which cancer cells promote immune escape by inducing phenotypic changes on different immune cell populations. In this review, we will discuss the recent findings on the role of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (TEVs) in regulating immune checkpoints, focusing on the PD-L1/PD-1 axis.


Blood ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 3937-3937
Author(s):  
Su-Hwi Hung ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Jing Tao ◽  
Carolyn Kim ◽  
Rachel Noone ◽  
...  

Abstract Human platelet PDE3A degrades cAMP, the major intracellular inhibitor of platelet function, and thus potentiates platelet activation. PDE3A is irreversibly inactivated by the affinity label Sp-cAMPS-BDB. The inactivation is prevented by Sp-cAMPS indicating that the affinity label is targeted at the cAMP binding site. We now use Sp-cAMPS-BDB with the aim of identifying nonconserved amino acids in substrate binding. After incubating Sp-cAMPS-BDB with PDE3A followed by reduction with [3H]NaBH4, the incorporation was 1.1 mol/mol. HPLC analysis of the tryptic digest yielded a radioactive octapeptide T806YNVTDDK813 in the 44-amino acid insert of PDE3A. Molecular modeling of PDE3A based on the PDE3B structure suggests the insert is a flexible loop. Incorporation of Sp-cAMPS-BDB indicates loop interaction with the substrate. Since Sp-cAMPS-BDB reacts with the nucleophilic residues, Y807, D811 and D812 were each mutated to alanine. Sp-cAMPS-BDB inactivates D811A and D812A but not Y807A, suggesting Y807 is the residue modified by Sp-cAMPS-BDB. Y807A affects the Km but not kcat, suggesting its involvement in cAMP binding. Kinetic analyses of 11 loop mutants reveal that H782A, T810A, Y814A and C816S each affects the kcat but not Km, indicating that catalysis is modulated. We conclude that binding of cAMP to the flexible loop of platelet PDE3A induces a conformational change which allows interaction with essential catalytic residues. These findings provide a new strategy for developing antiplatelet agents to treat patients with reocclusion of coronary arteries who are resistant to aspirin or whose chronic congestive heart failure prevents utilizing cilostazol.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemence Demerlé ◽  
Laurent Gorvel ◽  
Daniel Olive

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Immunotherapies (IT) have been rapidly approved for lung cancer treatment after the spectacular results in melanoma. Responses to the currently used checkpoint inhibitors are strikingly good especially in metastatic diseases. However, durable responses are observed in only 25% of cases. Consequently, there is an urgent need for new immunotherapy targets. Among the multiple checkpoints involved in the tumor immune escape, the BTLA-HVEM couple appears to be a promising target. BTLA (B- and T- Lymphocyte Attenuator) is a co-inhibitory receptor mainly expressed by B and T cells, repressing the activation signal transduction. BTLA shares similarities with other immune checkpoints such as PD-1 and CTLA-4 which are the targets of the currently used immunotherapies. Furthermore, BTLA expression points out terminally exhausted and dysfunctional lymphocytes, and correlates with lung cancer progression. The ligand of BTLA is HVEM (Herpes Virus Entry Mediator) which belongs to the TNF receptor family. Often described as a molecular switch, HVEM is constitutively expressed by many cells, including cells from tumor and healthy tissues. In addition, HVEM seems to be involved in tumor immuno-evasion, especially in lung tumors lacking PD-L1 expression. Here, we propose to review the role of BTLA-HVEM in immuno-escape in order to highlight its potential for designing new immunotherapies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document