Isolation and characterisation of graves’ disease-specific extracellular vesicles from tissue maintained on a bespoke microfluidic device

This report demonstrates the ability of a microfluidic device to maintain human Graves' disease tissue enabling isolation and characterisation specific exosomes. (n = 7) non-Graves’ (Hashimoto's thyroiditis, n 3; follicular adenoma, 1) was incubated in for 6 days ± dexamethasone or methimazole effluent analysed size concentration extracellular vesicles (EV) using nanoparticle tracking analysis. Exosomes were isolated by centrifugation characterised Western blotting qRT-PCR miRNA-146a miRNA-155, previously reported be immunomodulatory. EV detected all samples. No difference observed released from compared although smaller those tissue, not consistently significant. effect treatment on released. The exosome markers CD63 CD81 detectable 2/5 exosomes also evident single sample. miRNA-155 samples with no between cohorts. Treatment did influence miRNA expression tissue. Although both elevated following methimazole, increase study provides proof concept that incubation allows detection, biopsies.