1.1.1.2. Exosomal miRNAs and Epithelial-mesenchymal transition
(EMT):
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process in which cancer
cells acquire increased motility and tremendous plasticity, caused by
loss of cell junctions and apical-basal polarity and acquisition of
mesenchymal characteristics [72, 73]. EMT cells are directly related
to metastasis, cancer progression, and drug resistance in various
cancers because they have an extremely invasive phenotype [74].
There is ample evidence to demonstrate that the EMT process in the TME
can be modulated by exosomes released from cancer cells [41, 75,
76]. Xiao et al. showed that exosomal miRNAs involved in regulating
EMT, such as miR-191 and let-7a derived from melanoma, induced EMT in
primary melanocytes [77]. Additionally, studies have shown that
exosomal miRNAs are involved in activating or stabilizing EMT in primary
tumor cells [36].