Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

Abstract

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points.

Hypoxia alters the release and size distribution of extracellular vesicles in pancreatic cancer cells to support their adaptive survival

“…12 Exo, on the other hand, are released when multivesicular bodies exocytose. 37 Lastly, we also observed that heightened release of EV, especially SEV, had a functional relevance in supporting the hypoxic survival of pancreatic tumor cells. Specially, SEV, which exhibited the most heightened release under hypoxia, shifted toward a smaller size distribution (~19% and 48% decrease on an average for MiaPaCa and AsPC1 cells, respectively) under extreme hypoxia (0.1% O 2 ).…”

Platelet‐derived extracellular vesicles released after trauma promote hemostasis and contribute to DVT in mice

“…EV cell populations are heterogeneous and consist of subpopulations. Nomenclature of these subpopulations is nonstandard; however, according the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles, small EVs consist of cell populations <100 or <200 nmol/L in size and are often referred to as exosomes . Small PEVs are known to carry numerous thrombotic mediators .…”

Exosome‐delivered circRNA promotes glycolysis to induce chemoresistance through the miR‐122‐PKM2 axis in colorectal cancer

“…At least 200 completed tracks were analyzed per video. All the data were analyzed by the nta analytical software (version 2.3; Thery and Witwer, ).…”