• Role of exosomes derived leukemic cells in leukemogeneis
  • Nikoo Navidi Ghaziani,1,* Maryam Shayanmanesh,2
    1. Research committee, Iran university of medical science, Tehran, Iran
    2. Research committee, Iran university of medical science, Tehran, Iran


  • Introduction: Hematologic malignancies are a group of diseases with variable pathogenesis and prognosis, including lymphoid, myeloid, histiocytic, and mast cell neoplasms. The prognosis of these diseases depends mainly on the pathological nature of the cancer. Leukemias are a group of blood cancers called lymphocytic and myeloid leukemias, which are divided into two types, acute and chronic, depending on the origin of cell types and clinical symptoms. Current diagnostic tests for leukemia include flowcytometry, biopsy, and imaging studies. Age and gender as well as the type and speed of leukemia are important indicators in the treatment of patients. All living cells release extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are composed of lipid bilayer membranes. Extracellular vesicles include several types, including exosomes, micro vesicles (MVs), ectosomes, oncosomes, and apoptotic bodies. It is known that extracellular vesicles are a general name for secreted vesicles. Extracellular vesicles are not just a simple two-layer lipid membrane structure; They are important transporters of various bioactive molecules, and these components of extracellular vesicles can reflect the properties of the cells of origin. Extracellular vesicles circulate in extracellular spaces in biological fluids such as blood, ascites, urine and saliva. An important historical step in this research area has been the discovery of new functions of extracellular vesicles as mediators of cell-cell interactions, where extracellular vesicles can deliver functional molecules to recipient cells, leading to changes in their physiological and pathological functions. Intercellular communication is an essential process not only in pathological situations but also for normal homeostasis. This communication occurs through direct contact between cells or through secretory factors such as growth factors, cytokines and chemokines. In general, extracellular vesicles cover a wide range of vesicles ranging in size from 8 nm to several micrometers. The diameter of micro vesicles generally varies between 200 nm and several micrometers. This is despite the fact that exosomes are smaller, measuring between 50 and 100 nm in diameter. In this review, we focused on leukemia cell-derived exosomes in tumor progression.
  • Methods: This study is a review study that was conducted with English keywords, exosomes, micro vesicles, leukemic cells, cancer progression in reliable scientific databases such as PubMed, Google scholar in the period from 2015 to 2023 and in the initial search 26 articles were found, and after evaluating the title and abstract, 8 articles were selected with the necessary conditions to participate in the present study, and general conclusions were made based on the information in the selected articles.
  • Results: Leukemia-derived exosomes can activate bone marrow stromal cells to improve leukemia cell survival, cell proliferation, and chemotherapy resistance. These exosomes disrupt the host's immune system, creating an immunosuppressive state and facilitating immune evasion of leukemia cells. They also transport proangiogenic molecules to endothelial cells, promoting angiogenesis and providing a favorable microenvironment for leukemia cells. A thorough understanding of the properties, biogenesis, and function of leukemia cell-derived exosomes, as well as the in vivo effects of exosomes on various components of the host immune system, could improve our ability to use exosomes as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
  • Conclusion: leukemia cell-derived exosomes can play an important role in the life of leukemia cells and influence vital processes such as survival, proliferation and apoptosis of these cells. These exosomes contain biological molecules such as miRNA, proteins, mRNA, etc. that can shed light on the pathological condition of leukemia patients. These partially oncogenic biomolecules can be transferred to nearby or distant cells and affect the behavior of these recipient cells. Therefore, cellular communication via exosomes could play a potentially important role in the development of leukemia. It seems that the identification of prognostic values and their application to detect micro vesicles in leukemia could offer new therapeutic targets for monitoring the condition of leukemia patients.
  • Keywords: exosomes, micro vesicles, leukemic cells, cancer progression