Extracellular vesicles

<p>Extracellular Vesicles (shortened as <a class="wikilink" href="/ev/">EV</a>'s) are sub-micron sized particles which have an enclosing membrane. They are one mechanism for inter-cellular communication. They are composed of lipids and proteins, and there may be nucleic acid inside (the <em>cargo</em>)[<a class="litnote tooltip" href="/literature/@libregts2018">@libregts2018<span class="tooltiptext">Flow cytometric analysis of extracellular vesicle subsets in plasma: impact of swarm by particles of non-interest</span></a>]. </p> <p>Extracellular vesicles were initially called nanovesicles, and they belong to one of three different categories based on their biogenesis [<a class="litnote tooltip" href="/literature/@pedrioli2021">@pedrioli2021<span class="tooltiptext">Extracellular Vesicles as Promising Carriers in Drug Delivery: Considerations from a Cell Biologist’s Perspective</span></a>], [<a class="litnote tooltip" href="/literature/@elsharkasy2020">@elsharkasy2020<span class="tooltiptext">Extracellular vesicles as drug delivery systems: Why and how?</span></a>]</p> <ul> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/apoptotic_bodies/">Apoptotic Bodies</a> (ApoBDs)</li> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/microvesicles/">Microvesicles</a> (MV)</li> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/exosomes/">Exosomes</a> (EXO)</li> </ul> <p>There is a possibility of <a class="wikilink" href="/using_exosomes_as_drug_delivery_systems/">using exosomes as drug delivery systems</a> since they are biocompatible, and already have a similar natural role in multicellular organisms. </p> <p>Another alternative is <a class="wikilink" href="/using_evs_as_biomarkers/">using EVs as biomarkers</a>, since it is believed that the regulation of the release and composition of these particles can be correlated to certain diseases. </p> <p>The biggest challenge is that most exosomes and microvesicles are $&lt;500\textrm{nm}$ in diameter, and therefore hard to detect by standard instruments:</p> <ul> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/limitations_of_nta_for_extracellular_vesicles_measurements/">Limitations of NTA for Extracellular Vesicles measurements</a></li> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/limitations_of_flow_cytometry_for_extracellular_vesicles_measurements/">Limitations of Flow Cytometry for Extracellular Vesicles measurements</a></li> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/limitations_of_trps_for_extracellular_vesicles_measurements/">Limitations of TRPS for Extracellular Vesicles measurements</a></li> <li><a class="wikilink" href="/limitations_of_a4f-dls-mals/">Limitations of A4F-DLS-MALS</a></li> </ul> <p>Moreover, detecting rare particles (perhaps 1% of the particles change between healthy and non healthy humans). This is why detecting <a class="wikilink" href="/low_abundance_evs/">Low abundance EVs</a> may be crucial in the future. </p> <p>Techniques such as <a class="wikilink" href="/simoa/">Simoa</a>, <a class="wikilink" href="/sp-iris/">SP-IRIS</a>, or <a class="wikilink" href="/multiplex_bead-based_flow_cytometry/">Multiplex bead-based flow cytometry</a> can be useful tools to detect rare events. Perhaps the <a class="wikilink" href="/evquant/">EVQuant</a> protocol is also relevant in these contexts. </p> <div class="admonition question"> <p class="admonition-title">Question</p> <p>Do other organisms use EV's for <a class="wikilink" href="/intracellular_communication/">intracellular communication</a>? I assume most <a class="wikilink" href="/animals/">animals</a> do, what about <a class="wikilink" href="/plants/">plants</a>?</p> </div>