Low extracellular vesicle concentrations predict survival in patients with heart failure

Abstract

BackgroundHeart disease is of worldwide importance due to high morbidity and mortality. Extracellular vesicle (EV) concentration and size represent novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers, e.g. in patients with liver cancer, but data on their prognostic relevance in heart disease are lacking. Here, we investigated the role of EV concentration, size and zeta potential in patients with heart disease.MethodsVesicle size distribution, concentration and zeta potential were measured by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) in 28 intensive care unit (ICU) and 20 standard care (SC) patients and 20 healthy controls.ResultsPatients with any disease had a lower zeta potential compared to the healthy controls. Vesicle size (X50) was significantly higher in ICU patients (245 nm) with heart disease as compared to those patients with heart disease receiving standard care (195 nm), or healthy controls (215 nm) (p = 0.001). Notably, EV concentration was lower in ICU patients with heart disease (4.68 × 1010 particles/ml) compared to SC patients with heart disease (7,62 × 1010 particles/ml) and healthy controls (1.50 × 1011 particles/ml) (p = 0.002). Extracellular vesicle concentration is prognostic for overall survival in patients with heart disease. Overall survival is significantly reduced when the vesicle concentration is below 5.55 × 1010 particles/ml. Median overall survival was only 140 days in patients with vesicle concentrations below 5.55 × 1010 particles/ml compared to 211 days in patients with vesicle concentrations above 5.55 × 1010 particles/ml (p = 0.032).SummaryConcentration of EVs is a novel prognostic marker in ICU and SC patients with heart disease.

The association between the size of adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles and fasting serum triglyceride-glucose index as proxy measures of adipose tissue insulin resistance in a rat model of early-stage obesity

“…While our study did not reveal significant differences in the zeta potential and size of adEV between the two groups, again, most likely due to the small number of experimental units, a difference was still observed, and should be corroborated in a future study. Considering that changes in adEV size and zeta potential could be significant indicators for monitoring and diagnosing cardiometabolic diseases ( 51 , 52 ), further research is necessary to confirm whether alterations in the biophysical characteristics of adEV correlate with functional outcomes in the regulatory mechanisms of IR. This requires employing a standardized methodology for comprehensive analysis.…”

Extracellular vesicles: A new frontier in the theranostics of cardiovascular diseases

“…Identifying specific diagnostic markers within the cargo involves meticulous analysis, comparing the EV contents of healthy individuals with those of individuals diagnosed with CVDs, followed by validation studies on a larger cohort to confirm the reliability and specificity of these markers [57,58]. Translating the findings into clinically applicable assays is a crucial step toward practical implementation in a clinical setting.…”