Extracellular Vesicle–Derived microRNAs: A Deep Review of the Latest Literature Investigating Their Role in Drug Resistance, Prognosis, and Microenvironment Interactions in Hematologic Malignancies

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their molecular content are known as deterministic messengers between tumor-stromal cells involved in cancer development, including hematologic malignancies. Particularly, EVs and exosomes enriched in miRNAs are believed to mediate a wide range of behavioral changes in tumors cells. The objective of this review was to explore the role of miRNAs carried by EVs, including exosomes, in the prognosis, drug resistance, and microenvironmental interactions contributing to the pathogenesis of main hematologic cancers. Our literature review was conducted in PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and Scopus to gather the most recent publications in this area. Exploring the findings of relevant studies highlighted the indispensable contribution of microvesicular and exosomal miRNAs when it comes to evaluating the outcomes of hematologic neoplasms. The strong link between some of exomiRs and survival of patients with leukemias and multiple myeloma deserves to be the subject of future clinical studies. In fact, miRNAs transferred by exosomes derived from various sources, including tumors cells and close and distant cancer-associated stromal and endothelial cells, believed to trigger cellular processes involved in drug resistance and poor clinical outcomes in individuals suffering from hematologic neoplasms. Our review can provide researchers with novel ideas to explore the role of EV- and exosome-derived miRNAs in the clinicopathogenic outcomes of blood cancers.