Mapping bacterial extracellular vesicle research: insights, best practices and knowledge gaps

Nele De Langhe; Sofie Van Dorpe; Niké Guilbert; Amélie Vander Cruyssen; Quentin Roux; Sarah Deville; Sándor Dedeyne; Philippe Tummers; Hannelore Denys; Linos Vandekerckhove; Olivier De Wever; An Hendrix

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-53279-1

Mapping bacterial extracellular vesicle research: insights, best practices and knowledge gaps

Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 31;15(1):9410. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-53279-1.

Authors

Nele De Langhe^#^{1

2

3

4}, Sofie Van Dorpe^#^{1

2

5}, Niké Guilbert^{1

2}, Amélie Vander Cruyssen^{1

2}, Quentin Roux^{1

2

6}, Sarah Deville^{1

2

7}, Sándor Dedeyne^{1

2}, Philippe Tummers⁵, Hannelore Denys^{2

8}, Linos Vandekerckhove^{3

4}, Olivier De Wever^{1

2}, An Hendrix^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Cancer Research Institute Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
³ HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
⁵ Department of Gynecology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
⁶ CRCI²NA, Nantes Université, INSERM, CNRS, Nantes, France.
⁷ Laboratory for Molecular Diagnostics, Department of Clinical Biology, Jessa Hospital, Hasselt, Belgium.
⁸ Department of Medical Oncology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
⁹ Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. [email protected].
¹⁰ Cancer Research Institute Ghent, Ghent, Belgium. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) enable communication between bacteria and their natural habitats, including multicellular organisms such as humans. Consequently, the study of BEVs has rapidly gained attention with recent research raising the prospect of developing BEVs as biomarkers and treatments to manage (mal)functioning of natural habitats. Although diverse technologies are available, the composition of their source, their heterogeneity in biophysical and biochemical features, and their multifaceted cargo composition challenges the analysis of BEVs. To map current practices in BEV research, we analyzed 845 publications released in 2015-2021, reporting 3338 BEV-related experiments. The extracted data are accessible via the publicly available EV-TRACK knowledgebase ( https://evtrack.org/ ). We identify the need for transparent reporting, delineate knowledge gaps, outline available best practices and define areas in need of guidance to ensure advances in BEV research and accelerate BEV applications.

Mapping bacterial extracellular vesicle research: insights, best practices and knowledge gaps

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