ArticleOncotarget2017
Cancer-associated fibroblasts release exosomal microRNAs that dictate an aggressive phenotype in breast cancer.
Article in Oncotarget, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 201 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
201 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 311 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of progress toward unlocking the power of epigenetics in breast cancer: latest updates and perspectives.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of exosome biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer patients.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2018Pooled it
- Exosomal MicroRNAs as Drivers of Desmoplasia and Treatment Resistance in Breast Cancer: Mechanisms, Biomarker Potential, and Therapeutic Opportunities.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Nanomedicines Reshape the Tumor Microenvironment: Multidimensional Strategies from Modulating "Barriers" to Metabolic Intervention.International journal of nanomedicine · 2026Review
- The role of MiRNA-mediated tumor microenvironment in bone metastasis from a multi-omics perspective: cross-cancer mechanisms and clinical translation.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Cell competition within breast tumor microenvironment: emerging role of cancer stem cells and immune cells in tumor progression and therapeutic implications.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- CAF-derived exosomes: orchestrators of dysregulated signaling pathways in breast cancer progression.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Novel anti-tumor strategies: targeting the crosstalk between cancer stem cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts to resist drug resistance.Cancer drug resistance (Alhambra, Calif.) · 2026Review
- Exosomal MicroRNA: Diagnostic Potential and Role in Breast Cancer Dissemination.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- CAFs exosomal circFOXO1 promotes TNBC autophagy and radioresistance via miR-27a-3p/BNIP3 axis.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Fibroblasts activated by miRs-185-5p, miR-652-5p, and miR-1246 shape the tumor microenvironment in triple-negative breast cancer via PATZ1 downregulation.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- Reciprocal Modulation of Tumour and Immune Cell Motility: Uncovering Dynamic Interplays and Therapeutic Approaches.Cancers · 2025Review
- The role of exosomal non-coding RNAs in the breast cancer tumor microenvironment.Functional & integrative genomics · 2025Review
- Harnessing the tumor microenvironment: targeted cancer therapies through modulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Journal of hematology & oncology · 2025Review
- Extracellular vesicles and miRNA-based therapies in triple-negative breast cancer: advances and clinical perspectives.Extracellular vesicles and circulating nucleic acids · 2025Review
- Noncoding RNAs as regulators of FOSL1 in cancer.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Potential role of exosomes derived from the tumor microenvironment in tumor progression and treatment.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Exosomes and breast cancer angiogenesis; Highlights in intercellular communication.Cancer cell international · 2024Review
- Recent Advances of Small Extracellular Vesicles for the Regulation and Function of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Interplay between Wnt signaling molecules and exosomal miRNAs in breast cancer (Review).Oncology reports · 2024Review
141 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the major components of the tumor microenvironment. They may drive tumor progression, although the mechanisms involved are still poorly understood. Exosomes have emerged as important mediators of intercellular communication in cancer. They mediate horizontal transfer of microRNAs (miRs), mRNAs and proteins, thus affecting breast cancer progression. Differential expression profile analysis identified three miRs (miRs -21, -378e, and -143) increased in exosomes from CAFs as compared from normal fibroblasts. Immunofluorescence indicated that exosomes may be transferred from CAFs to breast cancer cells, releasing their cargo miRs. Breast cancer cells (BT549, MDA-MB-231, and T47D lines) exposed to CAF exosomes or transfected with those miRs exhibited a significant increased capacity to form mammospheres, increased stem cell and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and anchorage-independent cell growth. These effects were reverted by transfection with anti-miRs. Similarly to CAF exosomes, normal fibroblast exosomes transfected with miRs -21, -378e, and -143 promoted the stemness and EMT phenotype of breast cancer cells. Thus, we provided evidence for the first time of the role of CAF exosomes and their miRs in the induction of the stemness and EMT phenotype in different breast cancer cell lines. Indeed, CAFs strongly promote the development of an aggressive breast cancer cell phenotype.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.