Issue 12, 2022

Nanoscale biophysical properties of small extracellular vesicles from senescent cells using atomic force microscopy, surface potential microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

Cells secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) carrying cell-of-origin markers to communicate with surrounding cells. EVs regulate physiological processes ranging from intercellular signaling to waste management. However, when senescent cells (SnCs) secrete EVs, the EVs, which are newly regarded as senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors, can evoke inflammation, senescence induction, and metabolic disorders in neighboring cells. Unlike other soluble SASP factors, the biophysical properties of EVs, including small EVs (sEVs), derived from SnCs have not yet been investigated. In this study, sEVs were extracted from a human IMR90 lung fibroblast in vitro senescence model. Their biomechanical properties were mapped using atomic force microscopy-based quantitative nanomechanical techniques, surface potential microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The surfaces of sEVs derived from SnCs are slightly stiffer but their cores are softer than those of sEVs secreted from non-senescent cells (non-SnCs). This inversely proportional relationship between deformation and stiffness, attributed to a decrease in the concentration of genetic and protein materials inside the vesicles and the adsorption of positively charged SASP factors onto the vesicle surfaces, respectively, was found to be a peculiar characteristic of SnC-derived sEVs. Our results demonstrate that the biomechanical properties of SnC-derived sEVs differ from those of non-SnC-derived sEVs and provide insight into the mechanisms underlying their formation and composition.

Graphical abstract: Nanoscale biophysical properties of small extracellular vesicles from senescent cells using atomic force microscopy, surface potential microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
03 5月 2022
Accepted
05 9月 2022
First published
08 9月 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2022,7, 1488-1500

Nanoscale biophysical properties of small extracellular vesicles from senescent cells using atomic force microscopy, surface potential microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy

H. G. Lee, S. Roh, H. J. Kim, S. Kim, Y. Hong, G. Lee and O. H. Jeon, Nanoscale Horiz., 2022, 7, 1488 DOI: 10.1039/D2NH00220E

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