Integrated Strategies for a Holistic View of Extracellular Vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are receiving increasing attention for their role in spreading both beneficial and harmful information during cell-cell communication. The complexity and heterogeneity of the origin of EVs make integrated molecular, structural, and functional studies extremely challenging but necessary at the same time. In fact, a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach is needed to correlate the features of EVs, target cells/organs, and the pathophysiological outcomes exerted by the EVs' actions. Based on these premises, after introducing a brief state-of-the-art outline on the current analytical approaches exploited to characterize EVs, this review aims to highlight the effectiveness of those studies where authors put in correlation the diverse EV data collected from different points of view. Although these examples are still just a few, they still represent an excellent starting point to be taken as a reference in the perspective for improving the correlation among EV-related clinical aspects. Of course, to fully reach this goal, several points need to be further improved and developed. Undoubtedly, new avenues in diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications by EVs will be initiated by integrative strategies, combining biophysical approaches, high-throughput omics technologies, and computational models.

Automated summary

Extracellular vesicles play a crucial role in cell-cell communication by spreading information, both beneficial and harmful. The complexity and heterogeneity of these vesicles make comprehensive studies challenging but necessary. This review highlights the effectiveness of studies that integrate diverse data on extracellular vesicles from different perspectives, aiming to improve our understanding of their clinical relevance. Integrative strategies combining biophysical approaches, omics technologies, and computational models will pave the way for new diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic applications.