Cancer Alters the Metabolic Fingerprint of Extracellular Vesicles

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Cancer changes cell metabolism. In this study, we explored if the metabolic rewiring also alters the metabolite content of cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). For this, metabolomes of EVs from different cancers (prostate, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and colon cancer cell lines) were compared with the metabolomes of control EVs derived from matched non-cancerous cell lines. The metabolomes of EVs from all three cancer types significantly differed from their respective control EVs by elevated levels of proline and succinate. Additionally, prostate and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma cell line –derived EVs contained elevated levels of creatinine and folate when compared to controls. In conclusion, this study presents the first evidence that a shared panel of metabolites in EVs reflects the altered metabolic state of multiple cancer cell types in vitro. These results warrant further studies of the significance and usability of a metabolic fingerprint in cancer studies and for biomarker discovery. ABSTRACT: Cancer alters cell metabolism. How these changes are manifested in the metabolite cargo of cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) remains poorly understood. To explore these changes, EVs from prostate, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), colon cancer cell lines, and control EVs from their noncancerous counterparts were isolated by differential ultracentrifugation and analyzed by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), electron microscopy (EM), Western blotting, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Although minor differences between the cancerous and non-cancerous cell-derived EVs were observed by NTA and Western blotting, the largest differences were detected in their metabolite cargo. Compared to EVs from noncancerous cells, cancer EVs contained elevated levels of soluble metabolites, e.g., amino acids and B vitamins. Two metabolites, proline and succinate, were elevated in the EV samples of all three cancer types. In addition, folate and creatinine were elevated in the EVs from prostate and CTCL cancer cell lines. In conclusion, we present the first evidence in vitro that the altered metabolism of different cancer cells is reflected in common metabolite changes in their EVs. These results warrant further studies on the significance and usability of this metabolic fingerprint in cancer.