BACKGROUND Extracellular vesicles (EVs), membrane-bound particles containing a variety of RNA types, DNA, proteins, and other macromolecules, are now appreciated as an important means of communication between cells and tissues, both in normal cellular physiology and as a potential indicator of cellular stress, environmental exposures, and early disease pathogenesis. Extracellular signaling through EVs is a growing field of research for understanding fundamental mechanisms of health and disease and for the potential for biomarker discovery and therapy development. EVs are also known to play important roles in mediating the effects of exposure to environmental stress. OBJECTIVES This seminar addresses the application of new tools and approaches for EV research, developed in part through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Extracellular RNA Communication Program, and reflects presentations and discussions from a workshop held 27-28 September 2021 by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) on "Extracellular Vesicles, Exosomes, and Cell-Cell Signaling in Response to Environmental Stress." The panel of experts discussed current research on EVs and environmental exposures, highlighted recent advances in EV isolation and characterization, and considered research gaps and opportunities toward identifying and characterizing the roles for EVs in environmentally related diseases, as well as the current challenges and opportunities in this field. DISCUSSION The authors discuss the application of new experimental models, particularly organ-on-chip (OOC) systems and in vitro approaches and how these have the potential to extend findings in population-based studies of EVs in exposure-related diseases. Given the complex challenges of identifying cell-specific EVs related to environmental exposures, as well as the general heterogeneity and variability in EVs in blood and other accessible biological samples, there is a critical need for rigorous reporting of experimental methods and validation studies. The authors note that these efforts, combined with cross-disciplinary approaches, would ensure that future research efforts in environmental health studies on EV biomarkers are rigorous and reproducible. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12980.

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研讨会：细胞外囊泡作为人类疾病环境压力的介质。

背景细胞外囊泡（EV）是含有多种 RNA 类型、DNA、蛋白质和其他大分子的膜结合颗粒，现在被认为是细胞和组织之间通讯的重要手段，无论是在正常细胞生理学中还是作为潜在的指标细胞应激、环境暴露和早期疾病发病机制。通过 EV 进行的细胞外信号传导是一个不断发展的研究领域，旨在了解健康和疾病的基本机制以及生物标志物发现和治疗开发的潜力。众所周知，电动汽车在调节环境压力影响方面发挥着重要作用。目标 本次研讨会讨论了 EV 研究新工具和方法的应用，这些工​​具和方法部分是通过美国国立卫生研究院 (NIH) 细胞外 RNA 通讯计划开发的，并反映了美国国立卫生研究院 2021 年 9 月 27 日至 28 日举办的研讨会的演示和讨论环境健康科学学院 (NIEHS) 和国家转化科学促进中心 (NCATS) 合作研究“响应环境压力的细胞外囊泡、外泌体和细胞间信号传导”。专家小组讨论了当前关于电动汽车和环境暴露的研究，强调了电动汽车隔离和表征的最新进展，并考虑了在识别和表征电动汽车在环境相关疾病中的作用方面的研究差距和机遇，以及当前的挑战和机遇这个领域。讨论 作者讨论了新实验模型的应用，特别是器官芯片 (OOC) 系统和体外方法，以及这些模型如何有可能扩展基于人群的 EV 在暴露相关疾病中的研究结果。鉴于识别与环境暴露相关的细胞特异性 EV 的复杂挑战，以及血液和其他可获取的生物样本中 EV 的一般异质性和变异性，迫切需要严格报告实验方法和验证研究。作者指出，这些努力与跨学科方法相结合，将确保电动汽车生物标志物环境健康研究的未来研究工作是严格且可重复的。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12980。