Exosomes secreted by colonic epithelial cells are present in feces and contain valuable epigenetic information, such as miRNAs, proteins, and metabolites. An in-depth study of this information is conducive to the diagnosis or treatment of relevant diseases. A crucial prerequisite of such a study is to establish an efficient isolation method, through which we can obtain a relatively more significant amount of exosomes from feces. This protocol is designed to effectively isolate a large number of exosomes from contaminants and other particles in feces by a combined method with fast filtration and sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. Exosomes generated by this method are suitable for further RNA, protein, and lipid analysis.
Keywords: Characterization; Colonic epithelial cells; Fecal exosomes; Isolation; Ultracentrifugation.