Technologies Used for Analysis of Extracellular Vesicle-Omics

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are naturally occurring and secreted membrane vesicles that carry proteins, lipids, and RNAs (mRNAs, microRNAs [miRNAs], and long noncoding RNAs [lncRNAs]) and play important roles in cell-cell communication. In the past two decades, some “-omics” technologies, including transcriptomics, proteomics, posttranslational modification (PTM)-omics, and lipidomics, have been applied to characterize the molecular compositions of EVs from different species, tissues, and cells. The development of mass spectrometry-based proteomic technologies has allowed in-depth proteomic analysis of EVs, which could provide a basis for discovering the protein signatures of EVs. Quantitative proteomic technologies can improve our understanding of the biological roles of EVs and the discovery of new biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis. Many types of protein PTMs, including phosphorylation, glycosylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, palmitoylation, oxidation, and citrullination, have been identified in EVs. Given the complexity of PTMs, more efforts are needed to understand their roles in physiological and pathological processes. Recently, several lncRNA-encoded microproteins/peptides have been identified in EVs using fine-tuned technologies. Lipidomic technology may provide insights into the roles of lipids in vesicle biogenesis and their biological functions. Thus, these “-omics” technologies may facilitate identification of the roles of EVs in physiology and pathology.