Landscape of tumor and immune system cells-derived exosomes in lung cancer - mediators of antitumor immunity regulation

Sep 24, 2026

Review examines how exosomes derived from tumor cells and from immune cells shape lung cancer development and immune regulation. It details how the exosomal cargo depends on cellular origin and lung microenvironment, enabling immunosuppressive or immunostimulatory effects that can either promote or restrain tumor growth. The review discusses roles for exosomes in lung cancer immunotherapy, including cell-free vaccine concepts and drug delivery, and highlights exosomal proteins and RNAs as potential biomarkers for prediction, diagnosis, prognosis, and disease monitoring.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Exosomes and tumor–immune cell crosstalk

Exosomal roles in immunotherapy

Exosomes as biomarkers

TYPE Review PUBLISHED 17 October 2023 DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1279495 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Jie Mei, Wuxi People’s Hospital Afﬁliated to Nanjing Medical University, China REVIEWED BY Diem Tran, Medical Genetics Institute (Vietnam), Vietnam Hui Xiao, Shanghai First People’s Hospital, China *CORRESPONDENCE Sonia Molina-Pinelo [smolina-ibis@us.es](smolina-ibis@us.es) RECEIVED 18 August 2023 ACCEPTED 06 October 2023 PUBLISHED 17 October 2023 CITATION Castillo-Peña A and Molina-Pinelo S (2023) Landscape of tumor and immune system cells-derived exosomesin lung cancer: mediators of antitumor immunity regulation. Front. Immunol. 14:1279495 . doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1279495 COPYRIGHT © 2023 Castillo-Peña and Molina-Pinelo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Landscape of tumor and immune system cells-derived exosomesin lung cancer: mediators of antitumor immunity regulation Alejandro Castillo-Peña 1 and Sonia Molina-Pinelo 1,2* 1 Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), HUVR, CSIC, University of Seville, Seville, Spain, 2Spanish Center for Biomedical Research Network in Oncology (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain The immune system plays a critical role in cancer, including lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint blockade, has revolutionized the treatment of lung cancer, but a large subset of patients either do not respond or develop resistance. Exosomes, essential mediators of cell-to-cell communication, exert a profound inﬂuence on the tumor microenvironment and the interplay between cancer and the immune system. This review focuses on the role of tumorderived exosomes and immune cells-derived exosomes in the crosstalk between these cell types, inﬂuencing the initiation and progression of lung cancer. Depending on their cell of origin and microenvironment, exosomes can contain immunosuppressive or immunostimulatory molecules that can either promote or inhibit tumor growth, thus playing a dual role in the disease. Furthermore, the use of exosomes in lung cancer immunotherapy is discussed. Their potential applications as cell-free vaccines and drug delivery systems make them an attractive option for lung cancer treatment. Additionally, exosomal proteins and RNAs emerge as promising biomarkers that could be employed for the prediction, diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of the disease. In summary, this review assesses the relationship between exosomes, lung cancer, and the immune system, shedding light on their potential clinical applications and future perspectives. KEYWORDS exosome, lung cancer, immune cell, immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment Introduction Lung cancer has a signiﬁcant impact worldwide: it is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths and the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer (1) . Most lung cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage, which contributes to the poor survival rate of the disease. Environmental factors play an important role, as tobacco smoke is the leading cause of lung cancer, both through primary and second-hand exposure (2) . Lung cancer is classiﬁed into Frontiers in Immunology 01 [frontiersin.org](frontiersin.org) two main groups, based on morphology and immunohistochemistry, small-cell carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small-cell carcinoma (NSCLC) . SCLC has a worse prognosis, although NSCLC is the predominant type, representing 83% of diagnosed cases, and is subdivided into adenocarcinoma (ADC), squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) and other minority subgrou

FAQs

What roles do tumor-derived and immune cell-derived exosomes play in lung cancer?

They mediate cross-talk between tumor and immune cells, influencing initiation and progression of lung cancer and affecting immune responses in the tumor microenvironment.

Why can exosomes have both immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory effects?

Because their molecular content varies with the cell of origin and the microenvironment, enabling either promotion or inhibition of tumor growth.

How are exosomes used in lung cancer immunotherapy and clinical applications?

The review discusses their potential in immunotherapy, including cell-free vaccine approaches and drug delivery systems, and it identifies exosomal proteins and RNAs as biomarker candidates for prediction, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring.

Sep 24, 2026

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