Platelets, endothelial cells and leukocytes contribute to the exercise-triggered release of extracellular vesicles into the circulation

Physical activity initiates a wide range of multi-systemic adaptations that promote mental and physical health. Recent work demonstrated that exercise triggers the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) into the circulation, possibly contributing to exercise-associated adaptive systemic signalling. Circulating EVs comprise a heterogeneous collection of different EV-subclasses released from various cell types. So far, a comprehensive picture of the parental and target cell types, EV-subpopulation diversity and functional properties of EVs released during exercise (ExerVs) is lacking. Here, we performed a detailed EV-phenotyping analysis to explore the cellular origin and potential subtypes of ExerVs. Healthy male athletes were subjected to an incremental cycling test until exhaustion and blood was drawn before, during, and immediately after the test. Analysis of total blood plasma by EV Array suggested endothelial and leukocyte characteristics of ExerVs. We further purified ExerVs from plasma by size exclusion chromatography as well as CD9-, CD63- or CD81-immunobead isolation to examine ExerV-subclass dynamics. EV-marker analysis demonstrated increasing EV-levels during cycling exercise, with highest levels at peak exercise in all EV-subclasses analysed. Phenotyping of ExerVs using a multiplexed flow-cytometry platform revealed a pattern of cell surface markers associated with ExerVs and identified lymphocytes (CD4, CD8), monocytes (CD14), platelets (CD41, CD42, CD62P), endothelial cells (CD105, CD146) and antigen presenting cells (MHC-II) as ExerV-parental cells. We conclude that multiple cell types associated with the circulatory system contribute to a pool of heterogeneous ExerVs, which may be involved in exercise-related signalling mechanisms and tissue crosstalk.