Cryo-electron microscopy of extracellular vesicles from cerebrospinal fluid

PLoS One. 2020 Jan 30;15(1):e0227949. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227949. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed vesicles which play important role for cell communication and physiology. EVs are found in many human biological fluids, including blood, breast milk, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), ejaculate, saliva etc. These nano-sized vesicles contain proteins, mRNAs, microRNAs, non-coding RNAs and lipids that are derived from producing cells. EVs deliver complex sets of biological information to recipient cells thereby modulating their behaviors by their molecular cargo. In this way EVs are involved in the pathological development and progression of many human disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases. In this study EVs purified by ultracentrifugation from CSF of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and individuals of the comparison group were characterized using nanoparticle tracking analysis, flow cytometry and cryo-electron microscopy. Vesicular size and the presence of exosomal marker CD9 on the surface provided evidence that most of the EVs were exosome-like vesicles. Cryo-electron microscopy allowed us to visualize a large spectrum of extracellular vesicles of various size and morphology with lipid bilayers and vesicular internal structures. Thus, we described the diversity and new characteristics of the vesicles from CSF suggesting that subpopulations of EVs with different and specific functions may exist.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Animals
  • Biomarkers / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Cerebrospinal Fluid / diagnostic imaging
  • Cryoelectron Microscopy*
  • Exosomes / chemistry
  • Exosomes / ultrastructure*
  • Extracellular Vesicles / chemistry
  • Extracellular Vesicles / ultrastructure*
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Humans
  • Lipid Bilayers / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Male
  • MicroRNAs / chemistry
  • MicroRNAs / isolation & purification
  • Middle Aged
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Parkinson Disease / cerebrospinal fluid*
  • Parkinson Disease / pathology
  • Tetraspanin 29 / cerebrospinal fluid

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Lipid Bilayers
  • MicroRNAs
  • Tetraspanin 29

Grants and funding

Russian Science Foundation under Grant №19-74-20146 (сryo-EM experiments) and the Russian Science Foundation under Grant №17-75-20159 (sample preparation, nanoparticle tracking and flow cytometry analyzes).