Exosomes are small, virus-like particles that can transport
genetic material and signal substances between cells. Researchers at Lund
University, Sweden, have made new findings about exosomes released from
aggressive brain tumours, gliomas. These exosomes are shown to have an
important function in brain tumour development, and could be utilised as
biomarkers to assess tumour aggressiveness through a blood test.
“Current wisdom says that cells are closed entities that
communicate through the secretion of soluble signalling molecules. Recent
findings indicate that cells can exchange more complex information – whole
packages of genetic material and signalling proteins. This is an entirely new
conception of how cells communicate”, says Dr Mattias Belting, Professor of
Oncology at Lund University and senior consultant in oncology at Skåne
University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.