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Cancer Drug Resistance pp 229–239Cite as

Cancer Exosomes as Mediators of Drug Resistance

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1395))

Abstract

In the last decades, several studies demonstrated that the tumor microenvironment is a critical determinant not only of tumor progression and metastasis, but also of resistance to therapy. Exosomes are small membrane vesicles of endocytic origin, which contain mRNAs, DNA fragments, and proteins, and are released by many different cell types, including cancer cells. Mounting evidence has shown that cancer-derived exosomes contribute to the recruitment and reprogramming of constituents associated with the tumor microenvironment. Understanding how exosomes and the tumor microenvironment impact drug resistance will allow novel and better strategies to overcome drug resistance and treat cancer.

Here, we describe a technique for exosome purification from cell culture, and fresh and frozen plasma, and further analysis by electron microscopy, NanoSight microscope, and Western blot.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Maria de Sousa from the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal, and the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Porto, Portugal, for her advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal

    Maria do Rosário André, Ana Pedro & David Lyden

  2. Department of Genetics, Oncology and Human Toxicology, NOVA Medical School/Faculty of Medical Sciences, NOVA University, Lisbon, Portugal

    Maria do Rosário André, Ana Pedro & David Lyden

Authors
  1. Maria do Rosário André
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  2. Ana Pedro
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  3. David Lyden
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria do Rosário André .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Jose Rueff

  2. New University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    António Sebastião Rodrigues

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André, M.d.R., Pedro, A., Lyden, D. (2016). Cancer Exosomes as Mediators of Drug Resistance. In: Rueff, J., Rodrigues, A. (eds) Cancer Drug Resistance. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1395. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3347-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3347-1_13

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-3345-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-3347-1

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