ExoCarta: A Web-Based Compendium of Exosomal Cargo

Abstract

Exosomes are membranous vesicles that are released by a variety of cells into the extracellular microenvironment and are implicated in intercellular communication. As exosomes contain RNA, proteins and lipids, there is a significant interest in characterizing the molecular cargo of exosomes. Here, we describe ExoCarta (http://www.exocarta.org), a manually curated web-based compendium of exosomal proteins, RNAs and lipids. Since its inception, the database has been highly accessed (>54,000 visitors from 135 countries). The current version of ExoCarta hosts 41,860 proteins, >7,540 RNA and 1,116 lipid molecules from more than 286 exosomal studies annotated with ISEV minimal experimental requirements for definition of extracellular vesicles. Besides, ExoCarta features dynamic protein-protein interaction networks and biological pathways of exosomal proteins. Users can download most often identified exosomal proteins based on the number of studies. The downloaded files can further be imported directly into FunRich (http://www.funrich.org) tool for additional functional enrichment and interaction network analysis.

Hepatic sinusoids in liver injury, inflammation, and fibrosis: new pathophysiological insights

“…They contain common marker proteins such as tetraspanins (e.g., CD 9, CD 10, or CD 26), endosome-associated proteins (Alix, TSG101), cytoplasmic heat shock proteins, and-most important for cell-cell interaction-cell-type specific proteins and nucleic acids [69,70]. More than 40,000 proteins, 7500 RNA, and 1100 lipid molecules have been identified from more than 286 exosomal studies [71]. Exosome signaling seems to be promoted by interaction via unknown receptors on target cells inducing downstream signaling or via direct fusion of the exosomal membrane with the target cell membrane delivering their content into the cell [65,69,70,72].…”

Characterization of Membrane Integrity and Morphological Stability of Human Salivary Exosomes

“…4) In fact, it was reported that exosomes contained both mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) that could be transferred to and be functional in target cells. 5) In addition, it was also suggested that exosomes could be distinctive biomarkers for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease.…”

Adaptor Protein CD2AP and L-type Lectin LMAN2 Regulate Exosome Cargo Protein Trafficking through the Golgi Complex

“…In fact, according to the ExoCarta database (35), many known exosome cargo proteins are also found in microvesicles, complicating studies on exosome cargo loading mechanisms. These observations, however, were largely based on experimental systems that captured a steady state profile of extracellular vesicles.…”