Malignant ascites-derived exosomes of ovarian carcinoma patients contain CD24 and EpCAM.

Abstract

CD24 is an established marker for poor prognosis in ovarian and other carcinomas. Acquisition of cytoplasmic CD24, as opposed to membranous expression, has been correlated with a higher invasiveness of tumor cells. Exosomes are small vesicles of endosomal origin that are often secreted by tumor cells. Given the emerging role of exosomes in tumor progression, we investigated whether cytoplasmic CD24 expression is correlated with the secretion of CD24 in exosomes.