Quantifying Extracellular Vesicle Heterogeneity: The Effect of Process Conditions on Protein Cargo for Skin Therapy

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) show potential in skin therapy due to their protein cargo with anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. This review analyzed 52 proteomic studies from the past 15 years, revealing significant heterogeneity in EV protein content, with 40% of 13,000 proteins appearing in only one study. Factors like EV source and isolation method accounted for only 25-60% of variance in protein cargo. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived EVs were particularly rich in proteins linked to wound healing and skin therapy. The study highlights the need for standardized methods to better understand how process conditions affect EV protein cargo.