Coagulation potential and the integrated omics of extracellular vesicles from COVID-19 positive patient plasma

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) participate in cell-to-cell communication and contribute toward homeostasis under physiological conditions. But EVs can also contribute toward a wide array of pathophysiology like cancer, sepsis, sickle cell disease, and thrombotic disorders. COVID-19 infected patients are at an increased risk of aberrant coagulation, consistent with elevated circulating levels of ultra-high molecular weight VWF multimers, D-dimer and procoagulant EVs. The role of EVs in COVID-19 related hemostasis may depend on cells of origin, vesicular cargo and size, however this is not well defined. We hypothesized that the procoagulant potential of EV isolates from COVID-19 (+) patient plasmas could be defined by thrombin generation assays. Here we isolated small EVs (SEVs) and large EVs (LEVs) from hospitalized COVID-19 (+) patient (n=21) and healthy donor (n=20) plasmas. EVs were characterized by flow cytometry, Transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, plasma thrombin generation and a multi-omics approach to define coagulation potential. These data were consistent with differences in EV metabolite, lipid, and protein content when compared to healthy donor plasma isolated SEVs and LEVs. Taken together, the effect of EVs on plasma procoagulant potential as defined by thrombin generation and supported by multi-omics is enhanced in COVID-19. Further, we observe that this effect is driven both by EV size and phosphatidyl serine.

Automated summary

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in cell-to-cell communication and maintaining homeostasis, but they also have implications in various diseases. This study focuses on the involvement of EVs in the coagulation process of COVID-19 patients and finds that the procoagulant potential of EVs may depend on their origin, cargo, and size. The researchers characterize the EVs and discover that COVID-19 patients have EVs with enhanced procoagulant effects compared to healthy individuals, which is influenced by both EV size and phosphatidyl serine.