Extracellular vesicles isolation and their biomarker potential: are we ready for testing?

In a recently published paper (Sci Rep 2016;6:33935), a group of Japanese investigators reported on a novel affinity-based method for the isolation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) from supernatants of cell lines or cells isolated from murine tissues (1). The paper calls attention to the growing interest of scientific and medical communities in EVs, their molecular and genetic characterization, their biomarker status and the role they play in human health and disease.