O R I G I N a L I N V E S T I G a T I O N Open Access , Frank Lj Visseren 1* and on Behalf of the Smart Study Group

Extracellular vesicle markers in relation to obesity and metabolic complications in patients with manifest cardiovascular disease Abstract Background: Alterations in extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microparticles, contribute to cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that obesity could favour enhanced release of EVs from adipose tissue, and thereby contribute to cardiovascular risk via obesity-induced metabolic complications. The objectives of this study were: 1) to investigate the relation between the quantity, distribution and (dys) function of adipose tissue and plasma concentrations of atherothrombotic EV-markers; 2) to determine the relation between these EV-markers and the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome; and 3) to assess the contribution of EV markers to the risk of incident type 2 diabetes.