Although single-cell RNA-sequencing has revolutionized biomedical research, exploring cell states from an extracellular vesicle viewpoint has remained elusive. We present an algorithm, SEVtras, that accurately captures signals from small extracellular vesicles and determines source cell-type secretion activity. SEVtras unlocks an extracellular dimension for single-cell analysis with diagnostic potential.
References
Kalluri, R. & LeBleu, V. S. The biology, function, and biomedical applications of exosomes. Science 367, eaau6977 (2020). This review article presents the origin, composition and function of sEVs.
Valadi, H. et al. Exosome-mediated transfer of mRNAs and microRNAs is a novel mechanism of genetic exchange between cells. Nat. Cell Biol. 9, 654–659 (2007). This paper reports RNA being transferred in sEVs.
Skog, J. et al. Glioblastoma microvesicles transport RNA and proteins that promote tumour growth and provide diagnostic biomarkers. Nat. Cell Biol. 10, 1470–1476 (2008). This paper confirms RNA transport in sEVs and describes their functions.
Ji, Y. et al. Multiplexed profiling of single-cell extracellular vesicles secretion. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 5979–5984 (2019). This paper uses a microfluidics method to study the secretion activity of sEVs at the single-cell level.
Liu, H. et al. Analysis of extracellular vesicle DNA at the single-vesicle level by nano-flow cytometry. J. Extracell. Vesicles 11, e12206 (2022). This paper uses nano-flow cytometry to study heterogeneity of DNA in sEV cargo.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: He, R., Zhu, J., Ji, P. & Zhao, F. SEVtras delineates small extracellular vesicles at droplet resolution from single-cell transcriptomes. Nat. Methods https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02117-1 (2023).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SEVtras characterizes cell-type-specific small extracellular vesicle secretion. Nat Methods 21, 166–167 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02118-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02118-0
- Springer Nature America, Inc.