Density-based lipoprotein depletion improves extracellular vesicle isolation and functional analysis

Blood plasma is the main source of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in clinical studies aiming to identify biomarkers and to investigate pathophysiological processes, especially regarding EV roles in inflammation and thrombosis. However, EV isolation from plasma has faced the fundamental issue of lipoprotein contamination, representing an important bias since lipoproteins are highly abundant and modulate cell signaling, metabolism, and thromboinflammation.