Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 27, 2026

Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy of Extracellular Vesicles in Three Dimensions
Published on: August 26, 2021
Extracellular vesicles in COVID-19 and long COVID: Structural mediators of viral persistence and immune dysfunction
Marialaura Fanelli1, Vita Petrone1, Rossella Chirico1
1Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, 00133, Italy.
Abstract:
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as pivotal structural mediators of immune dysregulation and viral antigen persistence in long COVID. Rather than passive biological carriers, EVs released during SARS-CoV-2 infection function as highly organized lipid nanostructures that preserve the native conformational integrity of viral proteins, including the spike glycoprotein, thereby facilitating chronic signaling and systemic inflammation. Recent advancements in single-particle analytical techniques, such as cryo-electron tomography and atomic force microscopy, are now overcoming the limitations of bulk analysis, enabling the visualization of EV heterogeneity and the quantitative profiling of their nanomechanical properties. This review synthesizes current insights into how EV-associated viral remnants and host-derived inflammatory cargo propagate neuro-immune crosstalk and vascular injury. We conclude by evaluating the potential of EVs as precision biomarkers and bioengineered therapeutic platforms, emphasizing the need for standardized structural characterization to transition these nanovesicles from physiological mediators to clinical diagnostic and regenerative tools.
Related Concept Videos
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies
Coronavirus
Overview of Exosomes
Stahl et al. discovered exosomes in 1983, but the exosomes were initially considered waste products released from the...
Viral Structure
Cytomegalovirus Disease
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease
