Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
The Institute for Environmental Health Solutions, Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 Sep;32(5):647-659. doi: 10.1038/s41370-022-00417-w. Epub 2022 Feb 25.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent small, membrane-enclosed particles that are derived from parent cells and are secreted into the extracellular space. Once secreted, EVs can then travel and communicate with nearby or distant cells. Due to their inherent stability and biocompatibility, these particles can effectively transfer RNAs, proteins, and chemicals/metabolites from parent cells to target cells, impacting cellular and pathological processes. EVs have been shown to respond to disease-causing agents and impact target cells. Given that disease-causing agents span environmental contaminants, pathogens, social stressors, drugs, and other agents, the translation of EV methods into public health is now a critical research gap. This paper reviews approaches to translate EVs into exposure science, toxicology, and public health applications, highlighting blood as an example due to its common use within clinical, epidemiological, and toxicological studies. Approaches are reviewed surrounding the isolation and characterization of EVs and molecular markers that can be used to inform EV cell-of-origin. Molecular cargo contained within EVs are then discussed, including an original analysis of blood EV data from Vesiclepedia. Methods to evaluate functional consequences and target tissues of EVs are also reviewed. Lastly, the expanded integration of these approaches into future public health applications is discussed, including the use of EVs as promising biomarkers of exposure, effect, and disease. IMPACT STATEMENT: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent small, cell-derived structures consisting of molecules that can serve as biomarkers of exposure, effect, and disease. This review lays a novel foundation for integrating EVs, a rapidly advancing molecular biological tool, into the field of public health research including epidemiological, toxicological, and clinical investigations. This article represents an important advancement in public health and exposure science as it is among the first to translate EVs into this field.
细胞外囊泡 (EVs) 是指源自母细胞并分泌到细胞外空间的小的膜包裹颗粒。一旦分泌出来，EVs 就可以在细胞间迁移并进行通讯。由于其固有的稳定性和生物相容性，这些颗粒可以有效地将 RNA、蛋白质和化学物质/代谢物从母细胞传递到靶细胞，从而影响细胞和病理过程。EVs 已被证明可以对致病因子做出反应并影响靶细胞。鉴于致病因子包括环境污染物、病原体、社会压力源、药物和其他因子，将 EV 方法转化为公共卫生领域现在是一个关键的研究空白。本文综述了将 EV 转化为暴露科学、毒理学和公共卫生应用的方法，重点介绍了血液作为临床、流行病学和毒理学研究中常用的例子。方法围绕 EV 的分离和特征分析以及可用于告知 EV 细胞起源的分子标志物进行了综述。然后讨论了 EV 内包含的分子货物，包括对 Vesiclepedia 中血液 EV 数据的原始分析。还回顾了评估 EV 功能后果和靶组织的方法。最后，讨论了将这些方法扩展到未来公共卫生应用的问题，包括将 EV 作为暴露、效应和疾病有希望的生物标志物的应用。 影响陈述：细胞外囊泡 (EVs) 是指由分子组成的小的细胞衍生结构，可作为暴露、效应和疾病的生物标志物。这篇综述为将 EVs（一种快速发展的分子生物学工具）整合到包括流行病学、毒理学和临床研究在内的公共卫生研究领域奠定了新的基础。本文是将 EVs 引入该领域的重要进展之一。
