Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, P. R. China.
College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, P. R. China.
Chemistry. 2024 May 23;30(29):e202304111. doi: 10.1002/chem.202304111. Epub 2024 Apr 18.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry diverse biomolecules (e. g., nucleic acids, proteins) for intercellular communication, serving as important markers for diseases. Analyzing nucleic acids derived from EVs enables non-invasive disease diagnosis and prognosis evaluation. Membrane fusion, a fundamental cellular process wherein two lipid membranes merge, facilitates cell communication and cargo transport. Building on this natural phenomenon, recent years have witnessed the emergence of membrane fusion-based strategies for the detection of nucleic acids within EVs. These strategies entail the encapsulation of detection probes within either artificial or natural vesicles, followed by the induction of membrane fusion with EVs to deliver probes. This innovative approach not only enables in situ detection of nucleic acids within EVs but also ensures the maintenance of structural integrity of EVs, thus preventing nucleic acid degradation and minimizing the interference from free nucleic acids. This concept categorizes approaches into universal and targeted membrane fusion strategies, and discusses their application potential, and challenges and future prospects.
细胞外囊泡 (EVs) 携带多种生物分子(例如核酸、蛋白质)进行细胞间通讯,是疾病的重要标志物。分析 EVs 中的核酸可实现非侵入性疾病诊断和预后评估。膜融合是一种基本的细胞过程,其中两个脂质膜融合,促进细胞通讯和货物运输。基于这一自然现象,近年来出现了基于膜融合的策略来检测 EVs 中的核酸。这些策略包括将检测探针包封在人工或天然囊泡内,然后诱导与 EVs 的膜融合以传递探针。这种创新方法不仅能够在原位检测 EVs 中的核酸,还能保持 EVs 的结构完整性,从而防止核酸降解并最大程度减少游离核酸的干扰。该概念将方法分为通用和靶向膜融合策略,并讨论了它们的应用潜力、挑战和未来前景。