Isolation of Extracellular Vesicles from Murine Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Using an Ultrafiltration Centrifugation Technique

J Vis Exp. 2018 Nov 9:(141):10.3791/58310. doi: 10.3791/58310.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are newly discovered subcellular components that play important roles in many biological signaling functions during physiological and pathological states. The isolation of EVs continues to be a major challenge in this field, due to limitations intrinsic to each technique. The differential ultracentrifugation with density gradient centrifugation method is a commonly used approach and is considered to be the gold standard procedure for EV isolation. However, this procedure is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and generally results in low scalability, which may not be suitable for small-volume samples such as bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. We demonstrate that an ultrafiltration centrifugation isolation method is simple and time- and labor-efficient yet provides a high recovery yield and purity. We propose that this isolation method could be an alternative approach that is suitable for EV isolation, particularly for small-volume biological specimens.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Video-Audio Media

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / chemistry*
  • Extracellular Vesicles / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Ultracentrifugation / methods*
  • Ultrafiltration / methods*