Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29983418›Full record

ArticleCancer gene therapy2018

Serum exosomes contain ECRG4 mRNA that suppresses tumor growth via inhibition of genes involved in inflammation, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis.

Liang Mao, Xue Li, Shu Gong, Haiyang Yuan, Yu Jiang, Wenjun Huang, Xingwang Sun, Xitong Dang

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer gene therapy, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 85 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Exosomes and solid cancer therapy: where are we now?Medical oncology (Northwood, London, England) · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Exosomes and SARS-CoV-2 infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2024
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Review
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Liang MaoInstitute of Cardiovascular Research, The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Xue LiInstitute of Cardiovascular Research, The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Shu GongDepartment of Pathophysiology, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Haiyang YuanInstitute of Cardiovascular Research, The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Yu JiangInstitute of Cardiovascular Research, The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Wenjun HuangInstitute of Cardiovascular Research, The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Xingwang SunDepartment of Pathology, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China.
Xitong DangInstitute of Cardiovascular Research, The Key Laboratory of Medical Electrophysiology, Ministry of Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, China. xitongdang1024@swmu.edu.cn.
Southwest Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Esophageal cancer related gene-4 (Ecrg4) has been shown to be a tumor suppressor in many organs. Exosomes are naturally secreted nanosized particles that carry signal molecules including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) among others. Upon internalization, exosomes unload their cargos that in turn modulate the biology of the recipient cells. Mounting evidence has shown that exosomal miRNAs are functional. However, reports that exosomes carry functional mRNAs remain scarce. We found that serum exosomes contain ECRG4 open reading frame. To simulate serum exosomal ECRG4, stable cell line expressing ECRG4 was created, from which exosomes were isolated and characterized, and the internalization and the resulting biological effects of exosomal ECRG4 were evaluated. Results showed that serum exosomes contain higher levels of ECRG4 mRNA in healthy individuals than their cancer counterparts. Exosomal ECRG4 can be internalized and unload the encapsulated ECRG4 into recipient cells, which subsequently suppressed cell proliferation in vitro, and inhibited tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. Mechanistically, ECRG4-containing exosomes, when internalized, suppressed the expression of genes commonly implicated in inflammation, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. Given that exosome is an ideal vehicle for therapeutics delivery and that ECRG4 is a tumor suppressor gene, the exosomal ECRG4 can be exploited as a formulation for cancer gene therapy.

Indexed as

Cell ProliferationGenes, Tumor SuppressorNeoplasmsA549 CellsAnimalsExosomesFemaleHEK293 CellsHumansInflammationMaleMiceMice, Inbred BALB CMice, NudeNeoplasm ProteinsNeovascularization, PathologicECRG4 protein, humanNeoplasm ProteinsRNA, MessengerRNA, NeoplasmTumor Suppressor Proteins

Identifiers

PMID29983418
OpenAlexW2813710259

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.