Neuroblastoma (NBL) can acquire a sustained high-level resistance during chemo and radiotherapy, and this represents the main reason for the fatal outcome of the disease. My recent discovery that microRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) with gene regulatory functions can be secreted by cancer cells within exosomes, are involved in inter-cellular paracrine communications between cancer cells and surrounding tumor associated macrophages (TAMs), and can affect cancer growth and dissemination has highlighted the importance of exosomic miRNAs in cancer biology. In this application, we propose to investigate what is the role of exosomic miRNAs in the development of drug and radio resistance and how the cross-talk between NBL and TAMs mediated by exosomic miRNAs can be impaired to restore sensitivity to resistant NBL.

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