NEWS The research group of Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson at the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Immunology Unit, has provided a chapter describing its research methods in the latest version of the revered handbook Current Protocols in Immunology. With the inclusion in the manual, the methods for isolation and characterization of exosomes −developed by the Umeå University group− are considered the best-practices.
“We are very pleased that our group was singled out amongst exosome-research groups worldwide to provide a chapter on what the editors consider to be the best reference method for isolation of exosomes,” says Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson.
“Current Protocols in Immunology contributes to increasing scientific quality and teaches young scientists the best laboratory practices for the research area they are establishing themselves in. Helping to further our field of exosome research is not only an honorable responsibility for us, it is also a wonderful acknowledgment of the quality of the work we do.”
As a best-practices handbook providing comprehensive coverage of immunological methods, Current Protocols in Immunology is widely considered to offer the most sophisticated research protocols in immunology today. It provides an international forum for the best, most solid, state-of-the-art methods to be disseminated. The chapter authored by Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson’s group provides a complete manual for isolation and characterization of exosomes, starting with the group’s own methods for organ- and cell cultures used for harvesting exosomes.
At about 30-150 nanometer in size, exosomes are vesicles produced by the eucaryotic cells of mammals and secreted into the blood, urine, saliva and all other bodily fluids. Exosomes carry messages between cells and influence important biologic mechanisms in both health and disease. One of the greatest challenges and a prerequisite for successful exosome research is the ability to isolate these vesicles, which are only visible in an electron microscope, in the purest possible form.
The exosome isolation procedure, based on sucrose-gradient ultracentrifugation, is elaborate and diverse. In the chapter, there is also a section on post-isolation methods to verify and estimate the yield and purity of isolated exosomes.
“Exosomal research is a new, cutting-edge area of science based on nano-biology and nano-medicine. The field has opened up exciting perspectives for novel methods in diagnostics and therapy of cancer as well as of many other important areas in medicine,” explains Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson.
Link to abstract of the chapter in Current Protocols in Immunology
Current Protocols in Immunology, chapter: Isolation and characterization of exosomes from cultures of tissue explants and cell lines. Authors: Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson, Vladimir Baranov, Olga Nagaeva, and Eva Dehlin. DOI: 10.1002/cpim.17
Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Clinical Immunology Unit, Umeå University
+46 90 785 2237; lucia.mincheva-nilsson@umu.se
Editor: Daniel Harju