MISEV2018: Update to the Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles

Updated guidelines on Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles have now been published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles (JEV, Taylor & Francis) as MISEV2018.

The original MISEV2014 guidelines were released in 2014 by the Board of Directors of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) to provide guidance in standardization of protocols and reporting in the EV field. Accumulating more than 800 citations since its release, the MISEV2014 guidelines have achieved the aim of becoming a guiding standard for researchers. A 2016 survey of ISEV members reaffirmed the need for guidelines and recommended that they be updated regularly…but with broad community input to accommodate and shape the quickly developing field.

MISEV2018 updates the topics of nomenclature, separation, characterization, and functional analysis, integrating the contributions of over 380 ISEV members, a strong tribute to the commitment of ISEV members. A two-page checklist summarizing the main points is also included.

So what’s new? MISEV2018 recommends the use of ‘extracellular vesicle’ as the preferred generic terminology for use in publications, in part due to challenges in confirming the biogenesis mechanisms of exosomes, microvesicles, and other particles, and in part due to the vague and varied uses of other terms. Separation and concentration options are now many and diverse; researchers should pick the methods most fit for downstream purpose and, more importantly, report these clearly and accurately. The EV-TRACK database (van Deun et al., Nature Methods, 2017) is supported as a means to record these details in order to improve clarity and reproducibility. To establish presence of EVs, examples of EV-enriched markers are provided, but the need for “negative” (better: “depleted”) markers is also highlighted. MISEV2018 adds topology as a recommended form of EV characterization, for example identifying where in or on a vesicle your favorite protein or RNA resides. It also recommends functional analysis of the ‘non-EV’ fractions to confirm EV-specific function (or not!). An appreciation of EV heterogeneity is included with a reminder that ‘larger EVs matter’ and a request to explore a range of EV subtypes in functional studies. Finally, although some of the specific details contained in MISEV2018 are focused on mammalian components, it is appreciated that the guidelines are applicable to non-mammalian and non-eukaryote research.

Please contact the corresponding authors, Clotilde Théry and Kenneth Witwer with any questions or comments.

For more information on the process of writing and publishing MISEV2018, see this white paper and Witwer et al., J. Extracell. Vesicles, 2017.

References

Lotvall J, Hill AF, Hochberg F, et al. Minimal experimental requirements for definition of extracellular vesicles and their functions: a position statement from the international society for extracellular vesicles. J. Extracell. Vesicles. (2014) 3: 26913. doi:10.1080/20013078.2018.1535750. PMID:25536934.

Witwer KW, Soekmadji C, Hill AF, et al. Updating the MISEV minimal requirements for extracellular vesicle studies: building bridges to reproducibility. J. Extracell. Vesicles. (2017) 6: 1396823. doi:10.1080/20013078.2017.1396823. PMID:29184626.

Théry C, Kenneth W Witwer KW, Aikawa E, et al. Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines. J. Extracell. Vesicles. (2018) 7: 1535750. doi:10.1080/20013078.2018.1535750.