Similarities and Differences in Extracellular Vesicle Profiles between Ischaemic Stroke and Myocardial Infarction

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved in intercellular signalling through the transfer of molecules during physiological and pathological conditions, such as ischaemic disease. EVs might therefore play a role in ischaemic stroke (IS) and myocardial infarction (MI). In the present study, we analysed the similarities and differences in the content of circulating EVs in patients with IS and MI. This prospective observational study enrolled 140 participants (81 patients with IS, 37 with MI and 22 healthy controls [HCs]). We analysed the protein and microRNA content from EVs using proteomics and reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and compared it between the groups. In the patients with IS and MI, we identified 14 common proteins. When comparing IS and MI, we found differences in the protein profiles (apolipoprotein B, alpha-2-macroglobulin, fibronectin). We also found lower levels of miR-340 and miR-424 and higher levels of miR-29b in the patients with IS and MI compared with the HCs. Lastly, we found higher miR-340 levels in IS than in MI. In conclusion, proteomic and miRNA analyses suggest a relationship between circulating EV content and the patient’s disease state. Although IS and MI affect different organs (brain and heart) with distinct histological characteristics, certain EV proteins and miRNAs appear to participate in both diseases, while others are present only in patients with IS.
This work was sponsored by a grant from Miguel Servet (CP15/00069 to María Gutiérrez- Fernández), a predoctoral fellowship (FI17/00188 to Mari Carmen Gómez-de Frutos;FI18/00026 to Fernando Laso-García), a Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship (CD19/00033 to María Pérez-Mato), the INVICTUS PLUS network grant (RD16/0019/0005) from the Carlos III Health Institute Health Care Research Fund and was co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship (IJCI-2017-33505 to Laura Otero-Ortega, Spanish State Research Agency) and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.