Tumor-derived exosomal lnc-Sox2ot promotes EMT and stemness by acting as a ceRNA in pancreatic carcinoma

Exosomes have recently been shown to play vital roles in cancer biology, but the roles and mechanisms of exosomal lncRNA in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain unknown. Here, we identified a lncRNA Sox2ot from exosomes of highly invasive PDAC cells and found Sox2ot was associated with poor prognosis. Sox2ot competitively binds the miR-200 family to upregulate Sox2, thus inducing EMT and stem features. We further confirmed the transmission of the exosomes from producer cells to recipient PDAC cells and liver cells in vitro and in vivo, and found that circulatory exosomes were mostly aggregated in liver to change the ahhesion to cancer cells. Therefore, the exosomal Sox2ot plays important roles and may be a useful maker for PDAC prognosis. tumor exosomes of Hs766t and Hs766t-l2 were analyzed for lncRNA microarray study.