Fig. 2: EVs are included in the TC tumor microenvironment.
From: Navigating thyroid cancer complexity: the emerging role of EV-derived non-coding RNAs
The tumor microenvironment of TC is a heterogeneous and dynamic entity with multiple factors and cellular composition. These cells include tumor cells (TC cells, CSCs), immune cells (DC cells, T cells, TAMs, neutrophils), stromal cells (CAFs), as well as exosomes of multiple cellular origin as carriers of intercellular interactions. A key aspect of this environment is the presence of extracellular vesicles (EVs) originating from multiple cell types, which serve as crucial mediators of intercellular communication. Within these EVs, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) act as influential regulators of gene expression. EV-derived ncRNAs can significantly impact TC progression by modulating processes such as tumor proliferation, invasion, migration, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and metastasis, by inducing gene silencing through epigenetic modifications. EVs extracellular vesicles, TC thyroid cancer, DC dendritic cell, TAMs tumor-associated macrophages, CSCs cancer stem cells, CAFs cancer-associated fibroblasts, EMT epithelial-mesenchymal transition.
