ISEV position paper: extracellular vesicle RNA analysis and bioinformatics

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are the collective term for the various vesicles that are released by cells into the extracellular space. Such vesicles include exosomes and microvesicles, which vary by their size and/or protein and genetic cargo. With the discovery that EVs contain genetic material in the form of RNA (evRNA) has come the increased interest in these vesicles for their potential use as sources of disease biomarkers and potential therapeutic agents. Rapid developments in the availability of deep sequencing technologies have enabled the study of EV-related RNA in detail. In October 2012, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) held a workshop on “evRNA analysis and bioinformatics.” Here, we report the conclusions of one of the roundtable discussions where we discussed evRNA analysis technologies and provide some guidelines to researchers in the field to consider when performing such analysis.

Therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived microvesicles on pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats

“…In the present study, the isolated MSC-MVs positively stained with annexin V and the MSC specific marker CD29 and displayed MV general spherical characteristics under TEM. According to the latest report from the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV), MVs and exosomes are two major types of extracellular vesicles that can be differentiated by their size and content [27] . Exosomes are defined as extracellular vesicles ranging from 40 to 100 nm in size, and MVs are those with a larger size (100-1000 nm) [28] .…”

Towards mechanisms and standardization in extracellular vesicle and extracellular RNA studies: results of a worldwide survey

“…Coincidence or not, EV research outputs including patents and publications grew rapidly following the initial reports of EVs and exRNA [8]. Indeed, the first scientific workshop of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) was dedicated to the topic of RNA and EVs [9-11]. Since then, ISEV has maintained attention to this topic [12].…”

The emerging role of extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for urogenital cancers

“…However, for a more comprehensive characterization of extracellular vesicles, additional methods could be used to determine their protein, RNA and lipid content. 7,86,87 Electron microscopy techniques are commonly used to visualize extracellular vesicles. The vesicles can be mounted on grids, fixed, stained with a contrast dye and visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).…”