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Lipid‐Targeting Peptide Probes for Extracellular Vesicles
Author(s) -
Flynn Aaron D.,
Yin Hang
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.25354
Subject(s) - vesicle , phosphatidylserine , membrane curvature , microbiology and biotechnology , extracellular , extracellular vesicles , peptide , biophysics , membrane , lipid bilayer , microvesicles , intracellular , chemistry , cancer cell , cell , cell membrane , lipid droplet , apoptosis , biology , biochemistry , cancer , phospholipid , microrna , genetics , gene
Extracellular vesicles released from cells are under intense investigation for their roles in cell–cell communication and cancer progression. However, individual vesicles have been difficult to probe as their small size renders them invisible by conventional light microscopy. However, as a consequence of their small size these vesicles possess highly curved lipid membranes that offer an unconventional target for curvature‐sensing probes. In this article, we present a strategy for using peptide‐based biosensors to detect highly curved membranes and the negatively charged membrane lipid phosphatidylserine, we delineate several assays used to validate curvature‐ and lipid‐targeting mechanisms, and we explore potential applications in probing extracellular vesicles released from sources such as apoptotic cells, cancer cells, or activated platelets. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 2327–2332, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.