Shami-Shah Adnan, Travis Benjamin G, Walt David R
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02120, USA.
Department of Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02120, USA.
Extracell Vesicles Circ Nucl Acids. 2023 Jul 19;4(3):447-460. doi: 10.20517/evcna.2023.14. eCollection 2023.
Extracellular vesicles are small, heterogenous, phospholipid-rich vesicles that are secreted by all cells into the extracellular space. They play a key role in intercellular communication because they can transport a variety of biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids between cells. As categorized by the International Society of Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV), the term EV encompasses different sub-types, including exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies, which differ in their size, origin, and cargo. EVs can be isolated from biological fluids such as blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid, and their biomolecular content can be analyzed to monitor the progression of certain diseases. Therefore, EVs can be used as a new source of liquid biomarkers for advancing novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Isolating and analyzing EVs can be challenging due to their nanoscopic size and low abundance. Several techniques have been developed for the isolation and characterization of EVs, including ultracentrifugation, density gradient separation, size-exclusion chromatography, microfluidics, and magnetic bead-based/affinity methods. This review highlights advances in EV isolation techniques in the last decade and provides a perspective on their advantages, limitations, and potential application to cell-type specific EV isolation in the future.
细胞外囊泡是由所有细胞分泌到细胞外空间的小的、异质性的、富含磷脂的囊泡。它们在细胞间通讯中起关键作用，因为它们可以在细胞之间运输多种生物分子，如蛋白质、脂质和核酸。根据国际细胞外囊泡协会（ISEV）的分类，术语“EV”涵盖不同的亚型，包括外泌体、微囊泡和凋亡小体，它们在大小、起源和货物方面存在差异。EV可以从血液、尿液和脑脊液等生物流体中分离出来，并且可以分析它们的生物分子含量以监测某些疾病的进展。因此，EV可以用作推进新型诊断和治疗工具的液体生物标志物的新来源。由于EV的纳米级尺寸和低丰度，分离和分析它们可能具有挑战性。已经开发了几种用于分离和表征EV的技术，包括超速离心、密度梯度分离、尺寸排阻色谱、微流体以及基于磁珠/亲和的方法。本综述重点介绍了过去十年中EV分离技术的进展，并对它们的优点、局限性以及未来在细胞类型特异性EV分离中的潜在应用提供了一个视角。
