High-throughput, multiplexed quantification, and sorting of single EVs at single-molecule level.

Abstract

We have developed a platform for the high-throughput, multiplexed, and ultra-sensitive profiling of individual extracellular vesicles (EVs) directly in plasma, which we call BDEVS - Agarose B ead-based D igital Single Molecule-Single EV S orting. Unlike conventional approaches, BDEVS achieves single molecule sensitivity and moderate multiplexing (demonstrated 3-plex) without sacrificing the throughput (processing ten thousand of EVs per minute) necessary to resolve EVs directly in human plasma. Our platform integrates rolling circle amplification (RCA) of EV surface proteins, which are cleaved from single EVs, and amplified within agarose droplets, followed by flow cytometry-based readout and sorting, overcoming steric hindrance, non-specific binding, and the lack of quantitation of multiple proteins on EVs that have plagued earlier approaches. We evaluated the analytical capabilities of BDEVS through head-to-head comparison with gold-standard technologies, and demonstrated a ∼100x improvement in the limit of detection of EV subpopulations. We demonstrate the high throughput (∼100k beads / minute) profiling of individual EVs for key immune markers PD-L1, CD155, and the melanoma tumor marker TYRP-1, and showed that BDEVS can precisely quantify and sort EVs, offering unprecedented resolution for analyzing tumor-immune interactions and detecting rare EV subpopulations in complex clinical specimens. We demonstrate BDEVS's potential as a transformative tool for EV-based diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring in the context of cancer immunology by analyzing plasma samples from patients with melanoma, where EV heterogeneity plays a critical role in disease progression and response to therapy.