title: High-speed centrifugation induces aggregation of extracellular vesicles.
abstract: Plasma and other body fluids contain cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), which participate in physiopathological processes and have potential biomedical applications. In order to isolate, concentrate and purify EVs, high-speed centrifugation is often used. We show here, using electron microscopy, receptor-specific gold labelling and flow cytometry, that high-speed centrifugation induces the formation of EV aggregates composed of a mixture of EVs of various phenotypes and morphologies. The presence of aggregates made of EVs of different phenotypes may lead to erroneous interpretation concerning the existence of EVs harbouring surface antigens from different cell origins.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging and NanoBioTechnology, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Linares
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging and NanoBioTechnology, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Sisareuth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging and NanoBioTechnology, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gounou
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging and NanoBioTechnology, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arraud
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging and NanoBioTechnology, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France.|Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France; a.brisson@cbmn.u-bordeaux.fr.
authors.forename: Alain R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Brisson
keywords: blood plasma; centrifugation; cryo-electron microscopy; extracellular vesicles; flow cytometry; immuno-gold electron microscopy; vesicle aggregation