Decoding vesicle-based precision oncology in gliomas

Vascularized platforms for investigating cell communication via extracellular vesicles

The vascular network plays an essential role in the maintenance of all organs in the body via the regulated delivery of oxygen and nutrients, as well as tissue communication via the transfer of various biological signaling molecules. It also serves as a route for drug administration and affects pharmacokinetics. Due to this importance, engineers have sought to create physiologically relevant and reproducible vascular systems in tissue, considering cell-cell and extracellular matrix interaction with structural and physical conditions in the microenvironment. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have recently emerged as important carriers for transferring proteins and genetic material between cells and organs, as well as for drug delivery. Vascularized platforms can be an ideal system for studying interactions between blood vessels and EVs, which are crucial for understanding EV-mediated substance transfer in various biological situations. This review summarizes recent advances in vascularized platforms, standard and microfluidic-based techniques for EV isolation and characterization, and studies of EVs in vascularized platforms. It provides insights into EV-related (patho)physiological regulations and facilitates the development of EV-based therapeutics.

[Extracellular vesicles for diagnosis and therapy of gliomas: problems and opportunities]

Glioblastoma is a primary brain tumor and one of the most aggressive malignant neoplasms. The prognosis remains poor with a short survival period after diagnosis even in the case of timely detection and early treatment with the use of advanced chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical treatment. In this regard, the research of the main pathogenetic links in the glioblastoma development continues. The current focus is on studying the molecular characteristics of tumours, including the analysis of extracellular vesicles, which play an essential role in intercellular communication processes. In this review, in order to provide up-to-date information on the role of extracellular vesicles in the diagnosis and therapy of gliomas, the analysis of the achieved results of Russian and foreign research related to this area has been carried out. The main goal of this review is to describe the features of extracellular vesicles as the containers and glioma marker transporters, as well as nucleic acids used in diagnosis and therapy.