Role of extracellular vesicles in chronic lung disease

Abstract

To explore the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in chronic lung diseases.EVs are emerging as mediators of intercellular communication and possible diagnostic markers of disease. EVs harbour cargo molecules including RNA, lipids and proteins that they transfer to recipient cells. EVs are intercellular communicators within the lung microenvironment. Due to their disease-specific cargoes, EVs have the promise to be all-in-one complex multimodal biomarkers. EVs also have potential as drug carriers in chronic lung disease.Descriptive discussion of key studies of EVs as contributors to disease pathology, as biomarkers and as potential therapies with a focus on chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer.We provide a broad overview of the roles of EV in chronic respiratory disease. Recent advances in profiling EVs have shown their potential as biomarker candidates. Further studies have provided insight into their disease pathology, particularly in inflammatory processes across a spectrum of lung diseases. EVs are on the horizon as new modes of drug delivery and as therapies themselves in cell-based therapeutics.EVs are relatively untapped sources of information in the clinic that can help further detail the full translational nature of chronic lung disorders.

Keywords: COPD exacerbations; asthma; cystic fibrosis; idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; lung cancer.

Figure 1

Overview of EV isolation, digestion and reverse-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) mass spectrometry (MS) strategy. (i) Biofluids are collected and processed by standard and ultracentrifugation. (ii) The isolated EVs are lysed and digested with trypsin and the resulting peptides are then separated by RP-LC and analysed by MS. (iii) The MS scans generated are searched against databases using algorithms to produce qualitative and quantitative data. Bioinformatic tools enable identification of unique EV disease profiles. EV, extracellular vesicle.