Short Course in Extracellular Vesicles — The Transition from Tissue to Liquid Biopsies

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles, carry a variety of bio-macromolecules, including mRNA, microRNA, other non-coding RNAs, proteins and lipids. EVs have emerged as a promising, minimally invasive (liquid biopsies) and novel source of material for molecular diagnostics, and may provide a surrogate to tissue biopsy-based biomarkers for a variety of diseases. Although EVs can be easily identified and collected from biological fluids using commercial kits, further research and proper validation is needed in order for them to be useful in the clinical setting. Currently, several EV-based research and diagnostic companies have developed research-based kits and are in the process of working with clinical laboratories to develop and validate EV-based assays for a variety of diseases. The successful clinical application of EV-based diagnostic assays will require close collaboration between industry, academia, regulatory agencies and access to patient samples. We expect that international, integrative and interdisciplinary translational research teams, along with the emergence of FDA-approved platforms, will set the framework for EV-based diagnostics. We recognize that the EV field offers new promise for personalized/precision medicine and targeted treatment in a variety of diseases. A short course was held as a four-session webinar series in September and October 2014, presented by pioneers and experts in the EV domain, covering a broad range of topics from an overview of the field to its applications, and the current state and challenges of the commercialization of EVs for research and an introduction to the clinic. It was concluded with a panel discussion on the regulatory aspects and funding opportunities in this field. A summary of the short course is presented as a meeting dispatch.