(193e) Improved Methods to Characterize and Preserve Exosomes

Most mammalian cells release nanoscaled membrane vesicles called exosomes. Exosomes transport membrane proteins, cytosolic proteins and nucleotides derived from the parent cells. The biological function of exosomes in regulating immunity and promoting oncogenes remains unclear. To help characterizing the biological role of exosome, the objective of this study was to assess existing methods to isolate and characterize exosomes. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used as an alternative to transmission electron microscope (TEM) to examine the morphology of exosomes. Changes in exosome morphology inspected by SEM were used to assess different exosome production and storage conditions. In addition to morphology, the quality of RNA contained within the exosomes was characterized using Agilent Bioanalyzer. Collectively the results suggested revised recommendations for processing and storage of exosomes that preserve morphological and biochemical characteristics. Maintaining exosomes in near native state is essential to reproducibly investigate exosome functions. This study was about improved methods to characterize and preserve exosomes.