Chemical Affinity-Based Isolation of Extracellular Vesicles from Biofluids for Proteomics and Phosphoproteomics Analysis

Summary

The present protocol provides detailed descriptions for the efficient isolation of urinary extracellular vesicles utilizing functionalized magnetic beads. Moreover, it encompasses subsequent analyses, including western blotting, proteomics, and phosphoproteomics.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from biofluids have recently gained significant attention in the field of liquid biopsy. Released by almost every type of cell, they provide a real-time snapshot of host cells and contain a wealth of molecular information, including proteins, in particular those with post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as phosphorylation, as the main player of cellular functions and disease onset and progression. However, the isolation of EVs from biofluids remains challenging due to low yields and impurities from current EV isolation methods, making the downstream analysis of EV cargo, such as EV phosphoproteins, difficult. Here, we describe a rapid and effective EV isolation method based on functionalized magnetic beads for EV isolation from biofluids such as human urine and downstream proteomics and phosphoproteomics analysis following EV isolation. The protocol enabled a high recovery yield of urinary EVs and sensitive profiles of EV proteome and phosphoproteome. Furthermore, the versatility of this protocol and relevant technical considerations are also addressed here.

Introduction

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-encapsulated nanoparticles secreted by all types of cells and are present in biofluids such as blood, urine, saliva, etc.^1,2,3,4. EVs carry a cargo of diverse bioactive molecules which reflect the physiological and pathological state of their host cells and, therefore function as crucial factors in disease progression^4,5,6. Moreover, extensive studies have established that EV-based disease markers can be ide....

Protocol

All urine samples were collected from healthy individuals after informed consent. The experiments were compliant with all ethical standards involving human samples and conform to the guidelines from Purdue University Human Research Protection Program.

1. Sample collection

1. Centrifuge 12 mL of urine sample in a 15 mL conical centrifuge tube for 10 min at 2,500 x g, 4 °C to remove cell debris and large apoptotic bodies.
2. Transfer 10 mL of the su.......

Discussion

Effective EV isolation is an essential prerequisite to detecting low-abundant proteins and phosphoproteins in EVs. Despite the development of numerous methods to fulfill this need, the majority still suffer from limitations such as poor recovery or low reproducibility, which impede their utilization in large-scale studies and routine clinical settings. DUC is generally considered as the most common method for EV isolation, and the additional washing steps are normally applied to help increase the purity of target EVs

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
1.5 mL microcentrifuge tube	Life Science Products	M-1700C-LB
1.5 mL tube magnetic separator rack	Sergi Lab Supplies	1005
15 mL conical centrifuge tube	Corning	352097
15 mL tube magnetic separator rack	Sergi Lab Supplies	1002
Anti-rabbit IgG, HRP-linked Antibody	Cell Signaling Technology	7074P2
Benchtop incubated shaker	Bioer	DIS-87999-3367802	Bioer Thermocell Mixing Block MB-101
CD9 (D3H4P) Rabbit mAb	Cell Signaling Technology	13403S
Chloroacetamide	Sigma -Aldrich	C0267-100G	Used for alkylation of reduced sulfide groups. Freshly prepare 400 mM in water as stock solution.
Ethyl acetate	Fisher Scientific	E145-4	Precipitates detergents
Evosep One	Evosep		Liquid chromatography system
Evotips	Evosep	EV2013	Sample loading for Evosep One system
EVtrap	Tymora Analytical		Functionalized magnetic beads, loading buffer, and washing buffer
Immobilon-FL PVDF Membrane	Sigma -Aldrich	IPFL00010	Blotting membrane
NuPAGE 4-12% Bis-Tris Gel	Invitrogen	NP0322BOX	Invitrogen NuPAGE 4 to 12%, Bis-Tris, 1.0 mm, Mini Protein Gel, 12-well
NuPAGE LDS Sample Buffer (4X)	Invitrogen	NP0007
PBS	ThermoFisher	10010023
Pepsep C18 15 x 75 x 1.9	Bruker	1893473	Separation column
Phosphatase Inhibitor Cocktail 2	Sigma -Aldrich	P5726-5ML	100X, Phosphotase inhibitor.
Phosphatase Inhibitor Cocktail 3	Sigma -Aldrich	P0044-1ML	100X,  Phosphotase inhibitor.
Pierce BCA Protein Assay Kit	ThermoFisher	23225
Pierce ECL Western Blotting Substrate	ThermoFisher	32106	HRP substrate
PolyMAC phosphopeptide enrichment kit	Tymora Analytical		Polymer-based metal ion affinity capture (PolyMAC) for phosphopeptide enrichment
Sodium deoxycholate	Sigma -Aldrich	D6750-10G	Detergent for lysis buffer. Prepare 120 mM in water as stock solution.
Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate	Sigma -Aldrich	L9150-50G	Detergent for lysis buffer. Prepare 120 mM in water as stock solution.
timsTOF HT	Bruker		Trapped ion-mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry
TopTip C-18 (10-200 μL) tips	Glygen	TT2C18.96	Desalting method
Triethylamine	Sigma -Aldrich	471283-100ML	For EV elution.
Triethylammonium bicabonate buffer	Sigma -Aldrich	T7408-100ML	1 M
Trifluoroacetic acid	Sigma -Aldrich	302031-100ML
Tris-(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride	Sigma -Aldrich	C4706	Used for reducion of disulfide bonds. Prepare 200 mM in water as stock solution. Aliquot the stock solution into small volume and store it in at-20°C (avoid multiple freeze-thaw cycles).
Trypsin/Lys-C MIX	ThermoFisher	PIA41007