Quality and efficiency assessment of six extracellular vesicle isolation methods by nano-flow cytometry.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have sparked tremendous interest owing to their prominent potential in diagnostics and therapeutics. Isolation of EVs from complex biological fluids with high purity is essential to the accurate analysis of EV cargo. Unfortunately, generally used isolation techniques do not offer good separation of EVs from non-EV contaminants. Hence, it is important to have a standardized method to characterise the properties of EV preparations, including size distribution, particle concentration, purity and phenotype. Employing a laboratory-built nano-flow cytometer (nFCM) that enables multiparameter analysis of single EVs as small as 40 nm, here we report a new benchmark to the quality and efficiency assessment of EVs isolated from plasma, one of the most difficult body fluids to work with. The performance of five widely used commercial isolation kits was examined and compared with the traditional differential ultracentrifugation (UC). Two to four orders of magnitude higher particle concentrations were observed for EV preparations from platelet-free plasma (PFP) by kits when compared with the EV preparation by UC, yet the purity was much lower. Meanwhile, the particle size distribution profiles of EV preparations by kits closely resembled those of PFP whereas the EV preparation by UC showed a broader size distribution at relatively large particle size. When these kits were used to isolate EVs from vesicle-depleted PFP (VD-PFP), comparable particle counts were obtained with their corresponding EV preparations from PFP, which confirmed again the isolation of a large quantity of non-vesicular contaminants. As CD9, CD63 and CD81 also exist in the plasma matrix, single-particle phenotyping of EVs offers distinct advantage in the validation of EVs compared with ensemble-averaged approaches, such as Western blot analysis. nFCM allows us to compare different isolation techniques without prejudice.

Rolling circle amplification integrated with suspension bead array for ultrasensitive multiplex immunodetection of tumor markers.

Multiplex detection of ultra-low abundant tumor markers is extremely important for early diagnosis and therapy evaluation. Herein, an ultrasensitive multiplex immunoassay was developed by combination of rolling circle amplification (RCA) and suspension bead array (SBA) technology. Based on a conventional sandwich-type immunoreaction on beads, the detection antibodies were conjugated with DNA primers, so RCA could be implemented to generate long-stranded DNA with abundant repeated sequences allowing for hybridization with fluorochrome-labeled oligonucleotide probes. Thus the fluorescence signal of immunocomplexes on the encoded beads can be greatly enhanced. Using the as-developed immuno-RCA suspension bead array (iRCA-SBA), simultaneous analysis of multiple tumor markers was achieved with the limits of detection of 3.1 pg/mL (∼0.1 pM) for prostate specific antigen (PSA), 9.1 pg/mL (∼50 fM) for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and 0.66 pg/mL (∼9 fM) for α-fetoprotein (AFP), which are two to three orders of magnitude lower than those obtained by the conventional SBA method. The dynamic range were 4.5, 4.7, and 5.5 orders of magnitude for PSA, CEA, and AFP, respectively. Tests on clinical serum samples demonstrate that the tumor marker concentrations measured by the newly developed iRCA-SBA assay agreed well with those obtained by the conventional SBA method. These results indicate that the iRCA-SBA assay significantly increased the detection sensitivity and dynamic range without sacrificing the reliability and accuracy of conventional SBA. Upon the integration with iRCA, SBA could find more applications in the detection of low abundance protein biomarkers for early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.

Protein Profiling and Sizing of Extracellular Vesicles from Colorectal Cancer Patients via Flow Cytometry.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have stimulated considerable scientific and clinical interest, yet protein profiling and sizing of individual EVs remains challenging due to their small particle size, low abundance of proteins, and overall heterogeneity. Building upon a laboratory-built high-sensitivity flow cytometer (HSFCM), we report here a rapid approach for quantitative multiparameter analysis of single EVs down to 40 nm with an analysis rate up to 10 000 particles per minute. Statistically robust particle size distribution was acquired in minutes with a resolution and profile well matched with those of cryo-TEM measurements. Subpopulations of EVs expressing CD9, CD63, and/or CD81 were quantified upon immunofluorescent staining. When HSFCM was used to analyze blood samples, a significantly elevated level of CD147-positive EVs was identified in colorectal cancer patients compared to healthy controls (P < 0.001). HSFCM provides a sensitive and rapid platform for surface protein profiling and sizing of individual EVs, which could greatly aid the understanding of EV-mediated intercellular communication and the development of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.