Extracellular Vesicles Research Group

About the group

The Buzás lab contributed to the extracellular vesicle field with the following observations:

• Demonstration that extracellular vesicles and protein aggregates share several biophysical parameters, and thus, protein aggregates may interfere with extracellular vesicle detection by flow cytometry and may contaminate vesicle preparations (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21041717);
• Demonstration that extracellular vesicles and protein aggregates may be discriminated by differential detergent lysis (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21041717);
• Introduction of gravity driven size filtration to extracellular vesicle isolation (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21041717);
• Demonstration that the use of ACD anticoagulant tubes prevents artefactual in vitro platelet vesiculation (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24360116);
• Identification of disease specific extracellular vesicle signature in the synovial fluid of patients with various joint diseases (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23185418);
• Demonstration that extracellular vesicles have combinatorial effect with cytokines on the gene expression of cells; (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24705984)
• Introduction of a simple 96 well plate total lipid assay to the assessment of the lipid content of extracellular vesicles; introduction of protein to lipid ratio as a parameter characteristic of different extracellular vesicle subpopulations and as a quality control parameter of extracellular vesicles (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25798862);
• Demonstration that different extracellular vesicle subpopulations are characterized by differential lipid properties exosomes being characterized by the highest lipid packing densities (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25798862);
• Combination of tunable resistive pulse sensing with detergent lysis to prove the vesicular nature of particles and to determine the differential extracellular vesicle subpopulation lysing concentrations of different detergents.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26264754)
• First demonstration of the association of glycosidases with extracellular vesicles (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23099419, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19442276)
• First demonstration that LDL mimicks exososmes and microvesicles during isolation and detection. Demondtration that LDL associates with extracellular vesicles in vitro. (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep24316.pdf)
• Demonstration that during monocyte activation cell surface thiols are preserved by the release of extracellular vesicles with oxidized membrane pathches (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28323130)
• Development of a simple flow cytometry assay to determine the potency of pre-implantation embyos (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5216337/)
• First demonstration of antibotics-induced release of exosomes with surface-associated DNA (Németh A et a. Sci Rep 2017)

Methods used to isolate and characterize extracellular vesicles:

Sequential differential centrifugation/ultracentrifugation combined with gravity size filtration, sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation, sucrose cushion ultracentrifugation, OptiprepTM density gradient ultracentrifugation, size exclusion chromatography, ultrafiltration, affinity capture magnetic isolation of extracellular vesicles, flow cytometry (direct or bead bound), Western blotting, tunable resistive pulse sensing (also combined with differential detergent lysis), RNA/DNA/lipid/protein/glycan analysis, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy

Academic collaborations:

In Hungary:

• Ágnes Kittel, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary (electron microscopy of extracellular vesicles)
• Róbert Horváth, Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (analysis of extracellular vesicles by label free optical biosensors)
• Erzsébet Ligeti, Department of Physiology, Semmelweis University (neutrophil-derived extracellular vesicles)
• Mária Deli Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute of Biophysics, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Hungary (AFM of extracellular vesicles)
• Mária Csete University of Szeged, Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics, Szeged (AFM of extracellular vesicles)
• János Matkó, Andrea Balogh Department of Immunology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary (spectroratiometric measurements of extracellular vesicles)
• Mihály Józsi, Department of Immunology, Eötvös Lóránd University (extracellular vesicles and complement components)
• Szigeti Krisztián Department of Biophysics and Radiation Biology, Semmelweis University, Budapest (biodistribution analysis of extracellular vesicles)
• Zoltán Varga Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (radiolabelling of extracellular vesicles for biodistribution analysis)
• Károly Vékey, Lilla Turiák-Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian (MS analysis of extracellular vesicles)
• Zoltán Giricz, Péter FerdinándyDepartment of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest (characterization of blood plasma extracellular vesicles mediating remote ischemic preconditioning)
• Katalin Kristóf, Dóra Szabó Department of Microbiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest (production and immune recognition of bacterial extracellular vesicles)

Abroad: 

• Steffen Gay, Center of Experimental Rheumatology, University Hospital Zurich and Zurich Center of Integrative Human Physiology
• Bence György, The Massachusetts General Hospital, and Neuroscience Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston
• Hans Joachim Gabius, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (analysis of galectin SNP sin RA and OA)
• Jan Lötwall, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (analysis of RNA in different subpopulations of extracellular vesicles)
• Marca Wauben, Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands (high resolution flow cytometry for single particle analysis of exosomes)
• Dolores di Vizio, Division of Cancer Biology and Therapeutics, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA (comparative analysis of large oncosomes and apoptotic bodies)
• Dolores Solis, Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain

Clinical collaborations:

• Béla Merkely, Annamária Kosztin, Tamás Radovits, Heart and Vascular Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest (analysis of extracellular vesicles in the pericardial fluid samples of CABG patients as well as heart transplantation donors and recipients
• László Harsányi, Ákos Szűcs, 1st Department of Surgery, Semmelweis University, Budapes (analysis of extracellular vesicles in pancreatic juice )
• János Rigó, First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Semmelweis University, Budapest (analysis of extracellular vesicles in blood plasma samples of normal pregnants as well as preeclamptic pregnants)
• György Nagy, Polyclinic of the Hospitaller Brothers of St. John of God in Budapest (analysis of extracellular vesicles in early rheumatoid arthritis)
• Anna Polgár, National Institute of Rheumatology and Physiotherapy, Budapest (analysis of extracellular vesicles in early rheumatoid arthritis)

Industrial collaborations:

• Attana, Stockholm, Sweden (analysis of surface lectin binding properties of extracellular vesicles by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM))

Members

PhD graduates:

• Eszter Ágnes Tóth (2023)
• Ádám Oszvald (2021)
• Barbara Wernerné Sódar (2019)
• Andrea Németh (2018)
• Tamás Szabó Géza (2018)
• Xabier Osteikoetxea (2017)
• Petra Misják (2014)
• Borbála Aradi (2013)
• Bence György (2013)
• Zsuzsanna Horváth (2010)
• Mária Szente-Pásztói (2010)
• Ágnes Koncz (2008)
• Zsuzsanna Ortutay (2008)

Publications