In Situ Membrane Biotinylation Enables the Direct Labeling and Accurate Kinetic Analysis of Small Extracellular Vesicles in Circulation

Anal Chem. 2021 Aug 10;93(31):10862-10870. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01176. Epub 2021 Jul 30.

Abstract

Circulating small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) are naturally occurring nanosized membrane vesicles that convey bioactive molecules between cells. Conventionally, to evaluate their behaviors in vivo, circulating sEVs have to be isolated from the bloodstream, then labeled with imaging materials in vitro, and finally injected back into the circulation of animals for subsequent detection. The tedious isolation-labeling-reinfusion procedures might have an undesirable influence on the natural properties of circulating sEVs, thereby changing their behaviors and the detected kinetics in vivo. Herein, we proposed an in situ biotinylation strategy to directly label circulating sEVs with intravenously injected DSPE-PEG-Biotin, aiming to evaluate the in vivo kinetics of circulating sEVs more biofriendly and accurately. Such an analysis strategy is free of isolation-labeling-reinfusion procedures and has no unfavorable influence on the natural behaviors of sEVs. The results showed that the lifetime of generic circulating sEVs in mice was around 3 days. Furthermore, we, for the first time, revealed the distinct in vivo kinetics of circulating sEV subpopulations with different cell sources, among which erythrocyte-derived sEVs showed the longest lifespan. Moreover, compared with circulating sEVs in situ or used as autograft, circulating sEVs used as allograft had the shortest lifetime. In addition, the in situ biotinylation strategy also provides a way for the enrichment of biotinylated circulating sEVs. In summary, this study provides a novel strategy for in situ labeling of circulating sEVs, which would facilitate the accurate characterization of their kinetics in vivo, thereby accelerating their future application as biomarkers and theranositic vectors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers / metabolism
  • Biotinylation
  • Extracellular Vesicles* / metabolism
  • Kinetics
  • Mice

Substances

  • Biomarkers