Minimum information to report about a flow cytometry experiment on extracellular vesicles: communication from the ISTH SSC Subcommittee on Vascular Biology

The Extracellular Vesicle Flow Cytometry Working Group (http://www.evflowcytometry.org) is formed by members of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV), the International Society on Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC), and the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH). This working group of flow cytometry experts develops guidelines for best practices regarding flow cytometry detection of extracellular vesicles. To improve rigor and standardization, this working group published a framework outlining the minimal information to report about a flow cytometry experiment on extracellular vesicles (MIFlowCyt-EV) in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, the ISEV journal, in 2020. In parallel, a manuscript explaining MIFlowCyt-EV was published in the Journal of Cytometry A, one of the ISAC journals, and now will be introduced to the ISTH as an SSC Communication in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. The goal of this SSC Communication is to explain why flow cytometry is becoming the instrument of choice to detect extracellular vesicles, the obstacles that have been identified and (mostly) overcome by developing procedures to calibrate flow cytometers, and the relevance of reporting minimal information to improve reliability and reproducibility of experiments in which flow cytometers are used for detection of extracellular vesicles.