Sepsis Circulating Extracellular Vesicles: Associated Cytokine Profile, Cellular Proliferation, and Cytoprotective...

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been linked with cytokine transportation and shown promising therapeutic and diagnostic potential in sepsis. Therefore, this study investigates the levels of cytokines associated with sepsis EVs and explores their therapeutic and diagnostic values.

Twenty sepsis patients and ten healthy controls were included in this study. Plasma samples were used to isolate EVs using the Invitrogen Total Exosome Isolation Kit. EVs were fully characterized, and the cytoprotective activity and cytokine profile were determined using MTT and multiplex assays.

Sepsis significantly increased the release, size, poly dispersion index, cellular proliferative and cytoprotective effects of isolated EVs, as well as altering the contents of their cytokines/chemokines and growth factors. Seven proteins were detected in EVs isolated from sepsis, but not healthy control patients. Two factors, IL-10 and basic FGF, were detected at significantly different levels in EV samples from sepsis vs. healthy control group.

These findings indicate that the enrichment of IL-15, IL-10 and G-CSF in sepsis circulating EVs represents a biologically active protein signature with potential to both modulate the immune response and serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker.