Investigation of Protein Heterogeneity in Extracellular Vesicles Derived From Different Human Blood Circulatory Regions

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small lipid bilayer-enclosed vesicles that are widely secreted by almost all types of cells into the extracellular microenvironment. They carry biomolecules such as proteins, lipids, mRNA, and miRNA, and play important roles in intercellular communication and disease regulation. Due to their stability and specificity, EVs have become a research hotspot for the diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases. Currently, existing studies on blood-derived EVs mostly rely on samples collected from peripheral veins, such as the brachial vein. However, there is a lack of research investigating the heterogeneity of EV contents across different vascular regions of the human body, such as arteries and deep veins in the head and neck. Neurointerventional surgery is a minimally invasive, imaging-guided medical technique that utilizes microcatheters, micro guidewires, and other instruments to access target vessels through the vascular system for the diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases. This technique allows for the collection of blood samples from arteries or veins in the head and neck during the surgical procedure. This project proposes to collect blood samples from the femoral vein, internal jugular vein, and internal carotid artery of patients with ruptured or unruptured intracranial aneurysms undergoing neurointerventional procedures under general anesthesia. EVs will be extracted for proteomic differential analysis, aiming to characterize the heterogeneity of EVs across different vascular regions in the human body and to explore potential diagnostic and prognostic protein biomarkers for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.