Microparticles, a form of extracellular vesicle, have been demonstrated to have a role in cellular cross-talk, affecting the cellular microenvironment in both normal and disease-states. The ability of cancer to exchange material between cells enables the dissemination of mechanisms for the tumours’ survival and proliferation. Microparticles shed from tumour cells have been linked with malignancy, angiogenesis, immune system evasion, chemo-resistance or multidrug resistance, invasiveness of the cancer and coagulation abnormalities seen in many cancer patients. Thus, a thorough understanding of cell-to-cell communication through the action of microparticles is essential to understand cancer mechanisms.
Microparticles were isolated from a panel of cancer cell lines, originating from a variety of sites around the body and varying in aggression. Whole cell and whole microparticle lysates were analysed via LC-MS/MS and the protein profiles of each were examined. These show conserved proteins within the microparticles as well as many differences between the microparticle populations. These microparticles protein cargo were compared to their parental cells and some proteins are shown to increase in concentration within the vesicles. This alludes to proteins that may be important in microparticle formation and function or are selectively packaged for intracellular communication and transfer. This work aims to understand microparticles physiological role in cancer progression.