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Abstract

Neuroscience

Enrichment of Astrocyte-Derived Extracellular Vesicles from Human Plasma

Published: August 3rd, 2022

DOI:

10.3791/64107

1Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2Center of Biomedical Investigation Network for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 3Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, 4Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute - IDIBAPS, 5Spanish Biomedical Research Network in Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN)

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are biological nanoparticles secreted by all cells for cellular communication and waste elimination. They participate in a vast range of functions by acting on and transferring their cargos to other cells in physiological and pathological conditions. Given their presence in biofluids, EVs represent an excellent resource for studying disease processes and can be considered a liquid biopsy for biomarker discovery. An attractive aspect of EV analysis is that they can be selected based on markers of their cell of origin, thus reflecting the environment of a specific tissue in their cargo. However, one of the major handicaps related to EV isolation methods is the lack of methodological consensuses and standardized protocols. Astrocytes are glial cells with essential roles in the brain. In neurodegenerative diseases, astrocyte reactivity may lead to altered EV cargo and aberrant cellular communication, facilitating/enhancing disease progression. Thus, analysis of astrocyte EVs may lead to the discovery of biomarkers and potential disease targets. This protocol describes a 2-step method of enrichment of astrocyte-derived EVs (ADEVs) from human plasma. First, EVs are enriched from defibrinated plasma via polymer-based precipitation. This is followed by enrichment of ADEVs through ACSA-1-based immunocapture with magnetic micro-beads, where resuspended EVs are loaded onto a column placed in a magnetic field. Magnetically labeled ACSA-1+ EVs are retained within the column, while other EVs flow through. Once the column is removed from the magnet, ADEVs are eluted and are ready for storage and analysis. To validate the enrichment of astrocyte markers, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), or other specific astrocytic markers of intracellular origin, can be measured in the eluate and compared with the flow-through. This protocol proposes an easy, time-efficient method to enrich ADEVs from plasma that can be used as a platform to examine astrocyte-relevant markers.

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Keywords Extracellular Vesicles

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