Extracellular Vesicles: For Better and For Worse
February 20, 2020, at 12:00 PM ETAbstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as exosomes, are nano-sized particles secreted by all cell types. Because of their ability to transfer a wide variety of biological cargo from donor to recipient cells, EVs have the potential to exert potent effects. Depending on the source of the donor cells, these effects may be either beneficial or harmful to recipient cells. For example, recent advancements in EV purification methods have allowed for the efficient separation of EVs away from virus in virally infected cells. Characterization of these damaging EVs has revealed the presence of viral material, and functional analyses have suggested that these EVs elicit adverse effects in uninfected recipient cells. On the other hand, EVs from human stem cells have demonstrated the ability to contribute to wound healing, angiogenesis, and immunomodulation. Therefore, these reparative EVs hold great promise for the future of regenerative medicine. This webinar will highlight recent research surrounding both damaging EVs from infected cells and reparative EVs from stem cells and discuss their potential applications for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Key Points
- Extracellular vesicles (EVs) such as exosomes are critical mediators of intercellular communication. The diverse biological cargo that is associated with these vesicles is believed to mediate the pleiotropic effects of EVs.
- Damaging EVs contain viral non-coding RNAs and other viral proteins. These EVs can exert deleterious effects on recipient cells; further characterization of damaging EVs may serve for diagnostic purposes.
- Reparative EVs can contribute to various biological processes ranging from normal cellular development to the repair of damaged and/or diseased tissue. Because of their broad regenerative properties, stem cell EVs are being evaluated as potential replacements for stem cell therapy.
Presenters
Fatah Kashanchi, PhD
Professor, George Mason University
Dr. Kashanchi is a tenured Professor at George Mason University (GMU) and the Director of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology. His research focuses on the mechanisms of viral gene expression and the dynamics of viral replication and host survival. He has published 220 peer reviewed manuscripts (h index = 59), served as an editorial board and reviewer for numerous scientific journals, and is a regular NIH study section member. Recently, Dr. Kashanchi's lab has concentrated on the roles of EVs and exosomes in viral infections. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology at the University of Kansas and then moved to the National Cancer Institute prior to coming to GMU.
Heather Branscome, MS, PhD
Senior Scientist, ATCC
Dr. Heather Branscome is a Senior Scientist with ATCC. Throughout her 17-year career she has gained broad experience working in both academic and industry settings. She has extensive experience in cell and molecular biology and completed her graduate training in Biosciences from George Mason University. While at ATCC she has held positions in manufacturing, quality control, and technology transfer to support the production and qualification of cell lines and other critical biological reagents to support the scientific community. In her current role she manages a team of biologists to support the CDC’s International Reagent Resources (IRR) program, as well as other government contracts. Since 2018, she has played a key role in establishing and maintaining ATCC’s extracellular vesicle (EV) portfolio. In this role she was responsible for developing and validating large-scale EV manufacturing protocols and performing various EV biochemical and functional assays. Her current research is focused on advanced methods for EV purification, characterization of novel EV subtypes, and mechanistic studies of stem cell-derived EVs in different models of cellular repair. She currently serves as director and instructor for two local Bio-Trac® biotechnology training programs and maintains an active affiliation with George Mason University.
