Extracellular Vesicles as Means of the Activation, Metabolic Change Induction, and Remodeling of the Tumor Microenvironment

The tumor microenvironment is a pivotal player in cancer growth and transformation, offering fertile soil to the cancer cells to predispose them to aggressiveness and metastatization. Nowadays, Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are recognized to play a crucial role in the crosstalk among cancer cells and resident cells/extracellular matrix, favoring the expansion of tumors. EVs are cell-derived complex bi-phospholipidic structures encompassing active biomolecules derived from donor cells. The complex milieu of EVs can confer to these molecules peculiar and unique synergic effects towards the targets.

This Research Topic aims to gather new perspectives and deep dissection of the molecular bases of EV-based crosstalk between tumor and microenvironment.

We welcome Original research articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Protocols, Methods, Perspectives, and Opinion articles exploring the interactions between EVs and tumor microenvironment. Topics of interest are, but are not limited to, the role of EVs in:
-tumor-to-microenvironment interaction and education
-premetastatic niche formation and homing to the niche
-extracellular matrix remodeling
-aggressiveness and metastatic potential
-immunological surveillance
-metabolic switch
-oxidative stress
-angiogenesis
-organotropism
-epigenetic modification

Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.