Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Environ Health Perspect. 2023 Oct;131(10):104201. doi: 10.1289/EHP12980. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-bound particles containing a variety of RNA types, DNA, proteins, and other macromolecules, are now appreciated as an important means of communication between cells and tissues, both in normal cellular physiology and as a potential indicator of cellular stress, environmental exposures, and early disease pathogenesis. Extracellular signaling through EVs is a growing field of research for understanding fundamental mechanisms of health and disease and for the potential for biomarker discovery and therapy development. EVs are also known to play important roles in mediating the effects of exposure to environmental stress.
This seminar addresses the application of new tools and approaches for EV research, developed in part through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Extracellular RNA Communication Program, and reflects presentations and discussions from a workshop held 27-28 September 2021 by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) on "Extracellular Vesicles, Exosomes, and Cell-Cell Signaling in Response to Environmental Stress." The panel of experts discussed current research on EVs and environmental exposures, highlighted recent advances in EV isolation and characterization, and considered research gaps and opportunities toward identifying and characterizing the roles for EVs in environmentally related diseases, as well as the current challenges and opportunities in this field.
The authors discuss the application of new experimental models, particularly organ-on-chip (OOC) systems and approaches and how these have the potential to extend findings in population-based studies of EVs in exposure-related diseases. Given the complex challenges of identifying cell-specific EVs related to environmental exposures, as well as the general heterogeneity and variability in EVs in blood and other accessible biological samples, there is a critical need for rigorous reporting of experimental methods and validation studies. The authors note that these efforts, combined with cross-disciplinary approaches, would ensure that future research efforts in environmental health studies on EV biomarkers are rigorous and reproducible. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12980.
细胞外囊泡（EVs）是一类含有多种 RNA 类型、DNA、蛋白质和其他大分子的膜结合颗粒，现已被认为是细胞间和组织间通讯的重要方式，在正常细胞生理和作为细胞应激、环境暴露和早期疾病发病机制的潜在指标方面均有体现。通过 EV 进行细胞外信号传递是一个研究领域，旨在深入了解健康和疾病的基本机制，并为发现生物标志物和开发治疗方法提供可能。EVs 还在介导暴露于环境应激的影响方面发挥着重要作用。
本研讨会介绍了部分通过美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）细胞外 RNA 交流计划开发的 EV 研究新工具和方法，并反映了 2021 年 9 月 27 日至 28 日由美国国立环境卫生科学研究所（NIEHS）和国家转化医学推进中心（NCATS）举办的“细胞外囊泡、外泌体和细胞-细胞信号对环境应激的反应”研讨会的演讲和讨论。专家组讨论了 EV 和环境暴露的当前研究，强调了 EV 分离和表征的最新进展，并考虑了识别和表征 EV 在与环境相关疾病中的作用方面的研究差距和机会，以及该领域当前的挑战和机遇。
作者讨论了新实验模型，特别是器官芯片（OOC）系统和方法的应用，以及这些方法如何有可能将人群中与 EV 相关的暴露疾病研究的发现扩展。鉴于与环境暴露相关的细胞特异性 EV 识别具有复杂的挑战，以及血液和其他可及生物样本中 EV 的普遍异质性和变异性，因此需要严格报告实验方法和验证研究。作者指出，这些努力与跨学科方法相结合，将确保未来在环境健康研究中 EV 生物标志物的研究工作是严格和可重复的。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12980.
