Kumari Suman, Lausted Christopher, Scherler Kelsey, Ng Alphonsus H C, Lu Yue, Lee Inyoul, Hood Leroy, Wang Kai
Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Biomolecules. 2024 Dec 14;14(12):1599. doi: 10.3390/biom14121599.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer nanoparticles released from all known cells and are involved in cell-to-cell communication via their molecular content. EVs have been found in all tissues and body fluids, carrying a variety of biomolecules, including DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites, and lipids, offering insights into cellular and pathophysiological conditions. Despite the emergence of EVs and their molecular contents as important biological indicators, it remains difficult to explore EV-mediated biological processes due to their small size and heterogeneity and the technical challenges in characterizing their molecular content. EV-associated small RNAs, especially microRNAs, have been extensively studied. However, other less characterized RNAs, including protein-coding mRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, circular RNAs, and tRNAs, have also been found in EVs. Furthermore, the EV-associated proteins can be used to distinguish different types of EVs. The spectrum of EV-associated RNAs, as well as proteins, may be associated with different pathophysiological conditions. Therefore, the ability to comprehensively characterize EVs' molecular content is critical for understanding their biological function and potential applications in disease diagnosis. Here, we set out to provide an overview of EV-associated RNAs and proteins as well as approaches currently being used to characterize them.
细胞外囊泡（EVs）是从所有已知细胞释放的脂质双分子层纳米颗粒，通过其分子内容物参与细胞间通讯。在所有组织和体液中都发现了EVs，它们携带多种生物分子，包括DNA、RNA、蛋白质、代谢物和脂质，为了解细胞和病理生理状况提供了线索。尽管EVs及其分子内容物已成为重要的生物学指标，但由于其尺寸小、异质性以及表征其分子内容物的技术挑战，探索EV介导的生物学过程仍然很困难。与EV相关的小RNA，尤其是微小RNA，已经得到了广泛研究。然而，在EVs中也发现了其他特征较少的RNA，包括蛋白质编码mRNA、长链非编码RNA、环状RNA和tRNA。此外，与EV相关的蛋白质可用于区分不同类型的EVs。与EV相关的RNA以及蛋白质的谱可能与不同的病理生理状况相关。因此，全面表征EVs分子内容物的能力对于理解其生物学功能以及在疾病诊断中的潜在应用至关重要。在这里，我们概述了与EV相关的RNA和蛋白质以及目前用于表征它们的方法。
