Identification of exosomal surface markers as potential biomarkers for the differentiation of acute pulmonary infections

Respiratory infections like community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are frequent causes of emergency room presentations, but sometimes difficult to differentiate by signs and symptoms. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are known as small nano- to micrometer-sized membrane particles that are secreted by eukaryotic cells during physiological and pathophysiological processes. They carry a huge subset of biomolecules as intravesicular cargo or on their surface that exert versatile extracellular and intracellular functions. Previous studies of human blood-derived EVs have shown that composition and cargo of those EVs can be altered under different disease conditions, thereby considering them as great potential biomarkers for disease identification and differentiation.

Here, we investigate the surface-marker expression of plasma-derived exosomes, a class of endosome-derived EVs, from a pilot-cohort of patients suffering from CAP (with or without COPD), AECOPD, or COVID-19 compared to a control group. Plasma was isolated from collected EDTA-blood samples and ultracentrifuged for enrichment of EVs. Exosomal surface marker expression was analyzed using the MACSPlex Exosome Kit (Miltenyi Biotec) that enables simultaneous flow cytometric detection of 37 exosomal surface markers.

Our results provide evidence that expression of distinct exosomal surface markers analyzed on plasma-derived exosomes, can be suitable to distinguish between control and different disease entities as well as for disease differentiation.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
01. März 2024