Formation of extracellular vesicles depends on mechanical feedback of the cortex and the glycocalyx

Cell-secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a pivotal role in local and distant cell-to-cell communication by delivering specific cargoes to other cells or to the extracellular space. In many cells, the glycocalyx, a thick sugar-rich layer at the cell surface, and the membrane-cortex attachment are crucially linked to the formation of EVs, yet it is unclear what determines the successful formation of EVs when multiple physical factors are involved. In this work, we developed a model for glycocalyx-membrane-cortex composite to investigate the effects of glycocalyx and membrane-cortex adhesion on the formation of EVs by combining polymer physics-based theory and Helfrich membrane theory. By performing linear stability analysis, we show that modulating the mechanical feedback among the glycocalyx, membrane-cortex attachment, and membrane curvature can give rise to two types of instabilities: a conserved Turing-type instability and a Cahn-Hilliard-type instability. Furthermore, using an equilibrium model, we identified two critical conditions for EV formation: an initial detachment of the membrane from the underlying cortex and then a sufficient driving force to induce membrane deformation for successful EV formation. We further demonstrated that there exists an optimal glycocalyx coating area at which the formation of EVs is most favorable. Finally, we use our model to predict that a heterogeneous size distribution of EVs can be generated through the regulation of glycocalyx properties, shedding insight into how EVs of different radii may be generated.