Tracing extracellular vesicles' journey from cancer cells to urine

Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) derived from cancer cells can travel from distant tumors via the bloodstream and kidneys and be excreted in urine, researchers from Science Tokyo reported. Using sophisticated molecular marking systems in mouse models of brain, lung, and pancreatic cancer, researchers directly traced sEVs from tumors to urine. They also revealed that kidney glomerular cells actively transport sEVs across the filtration barrier, supporting their use in emerging urine-based cancer diagnostics.