Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small cellular fragments released by cells; they are surrounded by a cellular membrane and contain substances like proteins, nucleic acids, and even some organelles. They are not complete cells, and therefore they cannot replicate, but after they leave the cell of origin, they can travel and deliver their cargo to other tissues.
Recent research has demonstrated that osteosarcoma cells secrete substances that, while protected within these vesicles, can travel through the circulation to distant organs, where their content is released, pre-disposing these organs towards metastatic colonisation.
As cancers grow, certain changes occur within the immediate tumour environment (microenvironment) that influence the release and the content of extracellular vesicles (EVs). These changes are well established drivers of tumour progression and indeed metastasis.
One of these changes, is the reduced oxygen content (hypoxia) that cancer cells experience as the tumour grows.
What was this project aiming to achieve?
The main objective of this project was to investigate the role of EVs in osteosarcoma metastasis to the lungs, with a particular focus on hypoxia.
The research aimed to provide new information on the composition of the EVs produced by osteosarcoma cells under hypoxia, and determine the effects they can trigger in lungs cells, that can facilitate the colonisation by osteosarcoma cells and therefore lung metastasis.
Analysis has revealed several proteins present in the EVs of hypoxic osteosarcoma cells and in laboratory models, lung tissue became more susceptible to the arrival and colonisation by osteosarcoma cells.
How could this project improve treatment options for osteosarcoma patients?
Data generated by this pilot study will inform future work, to identify the specific role each of these proteins play, with the aim of identifying therapeutic targets that can delay the spread of osteosarcoma to the lung, and potentially provide us with a toolkit to diagnose metastasis earlier.
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