AUTHOR=Wu Xiaoben , Wang Xingbang , Wang Jing , Hao Yingying , Liu Fang , Wang Xin , Yang Lei , Lu Zhiming TITLE=The Roles of Exosomes as Future Therapeutic Agents and Diagnostic Tools for Glioma JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.733529 DOI=10.3389/fonc.2021.733529 ISSN=2234-943X ABSTRACT=

Glioma is a common type of tumor originating in the brain. Glioma develops in the gluey supporting cells (glial cells) that surround and support nerve cells. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that contain microRNAs, messenger RNA, and proteins. Exosomes are the most prominent mediators of intercellular communication, regulating, instructing, and re-educating their surrounding milieu targeting different organs. As exosomes’ diameter is in the nano range, the ability to cross the blood–brain barrier, a crucial obstacle in developing therapeutics against brain diseases, including glioma, makes the exosomes a potential candidate for delivering therapeutic agents for targeting malignant glioma. This review communicates the current knowledge of exosomes’ significant roles that make them crucial future therapeutic agents and diagnostic tools for glioma.