Advances in Biological Function and Clinical Application of Small Extracellular Vesicle Membrane Proteins

Defa Huang; Jie Chen; Die Hu; Fangfang Xie; Tong Yang; Zhengzhe Li; Xiaoxing Wang; Yongwei Xiao; Jianing Zhong; Yu Jiang; Xiaokang Zhang; Tianyu Zhong

doi:10.3389/fonc.2021.675940

Advances in Biological Function and Clinical Application of Small Extracellular Vesicle Membrane Proteins

Front Oncol. 2021 May 20:11:675940. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.675940. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Defa Huang^{1

2}, Jie Chen^{1

2}, Die Hu^{1

2}, Fangfang Xie^{1

2}, Tong Yang^{1

2}, Zhengzhe Li^{1

2}, Xiaoxing Wang^{1

2}, Yongwei Xiao^{1

2}, Jianing Zhong³, Yu Jiang⁴, Xiaokang Zhang^{1

5}, Tianyu Zhong^{1

2

3

6}

Affiliations

¹ The First School of Clinical Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.
² Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Ministry of Education, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.
⁵ Department of Preventive Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.
⁶ Precision Medicine Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, China.

Abstract

Small extracellular vesicles are membrane-bound vesicles secreted into extracellular spaces by virtually all types of cells. These carry a large number of membrane proteins on their surface that are incorporated during their biogenesis in cells. The composition of the membrane proteins hence bears the signature of the cells from which they originate. Recent studies have suggested that the proteins on these small extracellular vesicles can serve as biomarkers and target proteins for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This article classifies small extracellular vesicle membrane proteins and summarizes their pathophysiological functions in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Keywords: biomarker; diagnosis; exosomes; membrane protein; small extracellular vesicles (sEVs); targeted therapy.

Publication types

Review