Project description:The goal of this experiment was to determine the RNA contents of extracellular vesicles isolated from 3-6mm bovine ovarian follicles.
Project description:Background: There is some evidence demonstrating the effect of psychological interventions in improvements in health biological parameters. To best of our knowledge, no study had addressed the impact of any psychological intervention on extracellular vesicles. In addition, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Emotion Focused Therapy for Cancer Recovery (EFT-CR) in the group have never been explored regarding extracellular vesicles and the effectiveness of these was not compared yet.
Objectives:
1. To explore and compare the effect of MBCT and EFT-CR on biological parameters and psychological variables in distressed people who have had breast, prostate and colorectal cancer;
2. In addition, we will explore the acceptability through recruitment and retention rates of MBCT and EFT-CR in group and evaluate whether these interventions are appropriate for a larger clinical trial.
Methods: The design of this study is a parallel randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomized into MBCT, EFT-CR or usual care. Outcome measures will be assessed before, at the end of the intervention (8 weeks) and follow-ups (24 and 52 weeks from the baseline moment).
Hypotheses: The researchers expected that both interventions will have an effect on extracellular vesicles and other study biomarkers as well as improvements in psychological outcomes, compared to treatment as usual (TAU) group. Regarding the comparative effectiveness, we did not have evidence to hypothesize which one of the interventions will be superior in both biological (extracellular vesicles) and psychological outcomes.
Contribution for practice: The results of this preliminary study would permit to know if there are benefits of these psychological interventions on changes in extracellular vesicles and on psychological outcomes related to health. In addition, this study will permit to determine the acceptability of conducting a larger randomized controlled trial.
Project description:Most cancer-related deaths are caused by distant metastases, which are tumour cells that have escaped from a primary tumour and passed into the bloodstream to colonize a new organ. In this context, communication between tumour and stromal cells is essential. Indeed, tumor cells interact with cells in the tumor microenvironment and are able to modify them to their advantage. Both extracellular vesicles (EVs) and exosomes are heterogeneous populations of small vesicles present in the tumor microenvironment and in body fluids that have recently emerged as powerful mediators involved in this communication and their transport in fluids. Tumor cells release large quantities of exosomes containing tumor markers, which can then spread to distant locations.
The exosomes are of endosomal origin. They are composed of proteins, lipids, RNA and DNA, and they circulate in the bloodstream. They can be internalized by specific distant cells and thus deliver a functional message. It has recently been shown that tumor exosomes containing pro-metastatic factors form pre-metastatic niches, before the tumor cells actually arrive, while determining the metastatic organotropism of tumors. These properties are now opening up new avenues of research in tumor biomarkers. In recent years, several studies have highlighted different markers contained specifically in exosomes derived from cancer cells. Consequently, exosomes are considered as potential reservoirs of tumor biomarkers that could be clinically useful for the non-invasive diagnosis of cancer, with the advantage of being performed by liquid biopsy. The study of microRNA (miRNA) is of particular interest. Indeed, miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs (between 21 and 25 nucleotides) involved in the regulation of gene expression and which are frequently deregulated in cancer. Several studies underline that the variation of free miRNAs in the blood is correlated with the progression of the disease, particularly in colon cancer. However, the stability of free miRNAs is controversial. Therefore, exosomes represent a very advantageous means of transporting miRNAs in the blood, as they are able to protect miRNAs from degradation by RNAase.
The hypothesis of the project is that circulating exosomes derived from tumours contain markers including specific miRNAs that could be used as biomarkers of early prognosis (survival and progression), easily measured in blood samples from patients with colon cancer. But other molecules contained in exosomes could also be of interest.
Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline and memory loss. It has been suggested that alterations in energy metabolism, specifically an increase in resting energy expenditure (REE), may be a key factor in the development and progression of AD. Regular physical activity may improve cognitive function in patients with AD, and although the mechanisms are unclear, organ-to-organ communication may play a role. We hypothesize that changes to extracellular vesicles (EVs) in response to regular physical activity might be involved in organ-to-organ communication mediating the improvement to cognitive function caused by regular physical activity in patients with AD. In this experiment, we profiled the microRNA composition of extracellular vesicles (EVs) purified from the blood of sedentary (sedEV) and/or acutely exercised (exEV) mice as part of understanding this hypothesis.
Project description:To further investigate the molecular mechanisms by which EVs mediated the abnormal localization of tight junction proteins and adherence junction protein, we performed miRNA microarray analysis of extracellular vesicles isolated from breast cancer cells. miRNA expression in extracellular vesicles was collected from MDA-MB-231-D3H1, MDA-MB-231-D3H2LN, BMD2a and BMD2b breast cancer cell lines.
Project description:Similar to bacterial proteins that are targeted to distinct macrophages organelles via extracellular vesicles, we propose that these vesicles also traffic small RNAs to modulate specific host factors. To test this, we aim to sequence extracellular vesicle derived sRNA, and whole bacterial small RNAs to determine selectivity, and to identify their bacterial and mammalian targets (Experimental Plan in Table-1). For this we will collect highly purified vesicles from N. gonorrhoeae (strain MS11A). We will also treat mouse derived primary macrophages with extracellular vesicles and compare their RNA response to untreated macrophages (Table-2). This will provide novel insights into how macrophages respond to N. gonorrhoeae infections. This data is part of a pre-publication release. For information on the proper use of pre-publication data shared by the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (including details of any publication moratoria), please see http://www.sanger.ac.uk/datasharing/
Project description:Given the nefarious role that Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can play in disease pathogenesis, there is a growing interest in examining the contents of EVs in many disorders, including depression, HIV, and HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND). EVs are particularly enriched with miRNA, and the nervous system expresses approximately 70% of all miRNA. miRNA typically regulate gene expression via degrading or suppressing mRNA translation, and these small non-coding RNAs, which are thought to be shuttled between cells via EVs, have been implicated in a host of diseases and conditions, including depression and cognitive decline. To our knowledge, however, this is the first study to examine brain-derived (bd) EV miRNA content in a preclinical model of HIV-associated CI and depression. We report 4 miRNAs, including miR-429-3p, miR-200c-3p, miR-183-5p, and miR-200b-3p, that are significantly upregulated in bdEVs of EcoHIV-infected mice and normalized by novel treatment.