Open AccessUnderstanding the extracellular vesicle surface for clinical molecular biology
Author(s) -
Hallal Susannah,
Tűzesi Ágota,
Grau Georges E.,
Buckland Michael E.,
Alexander Kimberley L.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of extracellular vesicles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.94
H-Index - 68
ISSN - 2001-3078
DOI - 10.1002/jev2.12260
Subject(s) - extracellular vesicles , context (archaeology) , microvesicles , extracellular vesicle , extracellular , nanotechnology , lipid bilayer , microbiology and biotechnology , biophysics , chemistry , membrane , biology , materials science , biochemistry , paleontology , microrna , gene
Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid‐membrane enclosed nanoparticles that play significant roles in health and disease. EVs are abundant in body fluids and carry an array of molecules (proteins, lipids, nucleic acids and glycans) that reflect the identity and activity of their cell‐of‐origin. While the advent of high throughput omics technologies has allowed in‐depth characterisation of EV compositions, how these molecular species are spatially distributed within EV structures is not well appreciated. This is particularly true of the EV surface where a plethora of molecules are reported to be both integral and peripherally associated to the EV membrane. This coronal layer or ‘atmosphere’ that surrounds the EV membrane contributes to a large, highly interactive and dynamic surface area that is responsible for facilitating EV interactions with the extracellular environment. The EV coronal layer harbours surface molecules that reflect the identity of parent cells, which is likely a highly valuable property in the context of diagnostic liquid biopsies. In this review, we describe the current understanding of the mechanical, electrostatic and molecular properties of the EV surface that offer significant biomarker potential and contribute to a highly dynamic interactome.