Profiling and promise of supermeres

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles and particles have important roles in physiology and disease. Advances in isolation and characterization technologies have enabled the identification of new particles. Supermeres are the newest addition to the rapidly expanding repertoire of the cell secretome, and provide exciting opportunities for clinical translation.

Fig. 1. Extracellular vesicles and particles.

Large extracellular vesicles (L-EVs) include microvesicles and oncosomes and from by the outward budding of the plasma membrane. Small extracellular vesicles (S-EVs) are derived from multivesicular bodies as well as the cell surface. Larger S-EVs and smaller L-EVs overlap in size. Extracellular particles are complexes of proteins and nucleic acids but not membrane-enclosed. The mechanisms of extracellular particle biogenesis are unknown. Within each of these groups, several subpopulations are likely to exist. HDL, high-density lipoprotein; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; VLDL, very-low-density lipoprotein.

Fig. 2. Extracellular particle isolation strategies and clinical potential.

Although asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) and serial ultracentrifugation have been used effectively to isolate extracellular particles, acoustofluidic centrifugation and microfluidic platforms are additional promising platforms. Extracellular particles can be useful for disease detection, disease staging and as reservoirs of potential therapeutic targets. A comprehensive proteomic analysis of supermeres by Zhang et al. identifies putative biomarkers for various diseases. VLDL, very-low-density lipoprotein.