The potential roles of cigarette smoke-induced extracellular vesicles in oral leukoplakia

The onset of oral leukoplakia (OLK), the most common oral lesion with a high risk of malignant transformation, is closely associated with the exposure of cigarette smoke. Cigarette smoke is a complicated mixture of more than 4500 different chemicals including various oxidants and free radical, which contributes to the onset of immune and inflammatory response or even carcinogenesis. Recent studies have proved that the exposure of cigarette smoke leads to the onset and aggravation of many diseases via significantly changed the production and components of extracellular vesicles. The extracellular vesicles are membrane-enclosed nanosized particles secreted by diverse cells and involved in cell–cell communication because of their ability to deliver a number of bioactive molecules including proteins, lipids, DNAs and RNAs. Getting insight into the mechanisms of extracellular vesicles in regulating OLK upon cigarette smoke stimulation contributes to unravel the pathophysiology of OLK in-depth. However, evidence done on the role of extracellular vesicles in cigarette smoke-induced OLK is still in its infancy.

Relevant literatures on cigarette smoke, oral leukoplakia and extracellular vesicles were searched in PubMed database.

In this review, we summarize the recent findings about the function of extracellular vesicles in the pathogenesis of cigarette smoke-induced diseases, and to infer their potential utilizations as diagnostic biomarkers, prognostic evaluation, and therapeutic targets of OLK in the future.