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Last Updated: 15-06-2018 7:10
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by all types of cells in culture, and were also discovered in abundance in all body fluids, including blood. They are heterogeneous in size, subcellular origin and molecular composition. EVs protein, nucleic acid (miRNA) and lipid composition reflects the composition and the physiological/pathological state of the parent cell. Because of the above characteristics and because they can be isolated from easy accessible body fluids, they are studied extensively as biomarkers for various diseases, with many studies focusing on cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Plasma EVs could thus represent a rich but so far untapped resource disease biomarkers. Examples are given for putative EV biomarker of active HIV reservoir in aviremic individuals and EV biomarkers of response to treatment of malignant mesothelioma.