Commitment of Annexin A2 in recruitment of microRNAs into extracellular vesicles

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain microRNAs (miRNAs). However, the exact molecular mechanisms of the recruitment of miRNAs in EVs are not well characterized. Based on proteomic analysis, we identified that silencing of Annexin A2 (ANXA2) significantly decreased the amount of miRNAs in EVs. In addition, microarray analysis revealed that ANXA2 regulated the loading of miRNAs into EVs in a sequence independent manner. Lastly, immunoprecipitation analysis confirmed that ANXA2 could bind miRNAs in EVs in the presence of Ca(2+). These observations demonstrate that ANXA2 plays an important role in the packaging process of miRNAs into EVs.