Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Trends Mol Med. 2014 Apr 3;20(7):385–393. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2014.03.002

Figure 2. Schematic representation of processes affected by EV-mediated signalling in cancer.

Figure 2

Tumour cells and stromal cells exchange EVs carrying proteins and nucleic acids that can affect the function of recipient cells. Tumour cell-derived EVs can contribute to spread of the transformed phenotype from transformed (light green) cells to surrounding non-transformed (dark green) cells (1) and contribute to tumours’ ability to escape from immune surveillance (2). EVs derived from stromal cells, such as fibroblast and immune cells, may influence tumour cell motility (3). Moreover, tumour-derived EVs stimulate endothelial angiogenic responses (4) and may enter the circulatory system and reach distant organs, where they promote thrombosis (5) and formation of pre-metastatic niches (6).