The size of extracellular vesicles secreted by different types of stem cells

Abstract

A mechanism of the therapeutic effect of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells (MMSC) on irradiated body has recently arisen much interest of researchers. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by almost all cells of a living organism were suggested to actively contribute to the paracrine mechanism of this effect. The aim of the study was isolation and characterization of extracellular vesicles produced by various types of stem cells. Materials and methods. Suspensions of EVs were isolated from culture media of passage 2 human bone marrow-derived MMSC and passage 4 rat adipose tissue-derived MMSC using a modified protocol of differential centrifugation and then studied using transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Results. The study showed the presence of microparticles with a size of >100 nm in the examined samples. However, the percent content of particles with different sizes in the suspension was different in two analyzed types of cell culture. Conclusion. The study results might reflect a specificity of secretion determined by the cell type.