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Roundtable topics, moderators, and descriptions.

Roundtable #1: Biogenesis and Release Moderators: Matias Ostrowski, Hang Yin, Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke

EV subpopulations are commonly defined by site or mechanism of biogenesis. Roundtable 1 aimed to identify outstanding questions about how various molecules and pathways influence formation and release of EVs.

Roundtable #2: Uptake and Fusion

Moderators: Pieter Vader, Jeanne Sisk, David Carter

After release, EVs may exert effects through autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine processes, all of which require interaction of EV membranes with target cells. This roundtable focused on current knowledge of EV-cell interactions, including uptake and fusion, and experimental approaches needed to dissect mechanisms.

Roundtable #3: Technologies and Strategies

Moderators: Marca Wauben, Paolo Bergese

Since unique technologies and approaches may be needed to study EVs and their membranes, this roundtable discussion sought to identify technologies, experimental methods, and models that have not yet been well applied to EV studies or should be further developed to enable more sophisticated analysis of EVs and membranes.

*Roundtable #4: Transfer and Functional Assays

Moderators: Jan Lötvall, Daniel Anthony

How EVs transfer cargo to recipient cells and how to assess effects of transfer were the considerations for this roundtable discussion. Also discussed were best practices for conducting and reporting EV studies (especially visualization), use of in vitro generated EVs for in vivo uptake studies, and the future of EV-based therapeutics.

*Because of substantial content overlap of Roundtable 4 with Roundtables 1–3, information from this roundtable has been integrated into other sections below.