Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a family of small membrane vesicles that carry information about cells by which they are secreted. Growing interest in the role of EVs in intercellular communication, but also in using their diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic potential in (bio) medical applications, demands for accurate assessment of their biochemical and physical properties. In this review, we provide an overview of available technologies for EV analysis by describing their working principles, assessing their utility in EV research and summarising their potential and limitations. To emphasise the innovations in EV analysis, we also highlight the unique possibilities of emerging technologies with high potential for further development.
Highlights
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a family of membrane vesicles containing a phospholipid bilayer and are secreted in the extracellular environment by most if not all cells
The relative quantification of EVs based on the presence of a protein of interest itself has its limitations as EVs from different origins greatly differ in composition due to the heterogeneous expression of proteins
When it comes to physical characterization of EVs and their quantification, existing approaches are generally limited to the analysis of pre-purified EVs of a specific size range and none of the existing techniques can currently cover the full spectrum of EVs while guaranteeing the accuracy and throughput required for routine clinical analysis
Summary
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a family of membrane vesicles containing a phospholipid bilayer and are secreted in the extracellular environment by most if not all cells. EV-mediated cell-to-cell communication in cancer has been highlighted in recent years, where transfer of EVs from the tumour to the tumour-microenvironment promotes angiogenesis, matrix remodelling and modulating immune and therapy response [4,5,6,7,8]. The transfer of EVs from the tumour microenvironment to tumour cells has been shown to promote tumorigenesis by increasing tumour cell proliferation, migration, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and resistance to chemotherapy [7,9,10,11]. EVs are seen as a promising source for biomarkers for disease elsewhere in the body, as they reflect the cell of origin in terms of proteins, nucleic acids (mRNA and the variety of smaller non-coding RNAs) and lipids. EV-containing ‘liquid biopsies’ like blood [17], urine [18], saliva [19], and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) [20] can be obtained in an easy and minimally-invasive way and are seen
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