Research

Understanding Exosomal Mediated Cell Signaling

                Understanding intra- and extracellular communication is vital to understanding and developing treatments for disease.  Recent research has implicated exosomes as a major component of intra- and extracellular communication.  An exosome is a cell-derived vesicle capable of delivering RNA or proteins to intra- or extra-cellular targets.  What makes exosomes unique, is the ability for exosomes to carry materials, with specificity, to distant regions of the body.  For example, stable neuronal exosomes have recently been isolated from the kidneys.  Evidence, such as this, has lead researchers in the field to believe that this pathway may potentially hold the key to unraveling aggressive cancers as well as neurodegenerative diseases.  This makes the elucidation of this pathway critically important to the development of appropriate treatments, diagnostic tests, and medications for a variety of illnesses.

                The Yang lab, in conjunction with our collaborators at the University of Pennsylvania, are developing novel technologies which will enable researchers to identify from where exosomes are derived, what proteins are necessary for proper function, and what, if any, factors are involved with proper targeting.  The backbone of this effort is a form of entirely novel reflection microscopy technology which will enable researchers to track a single molecule and infer 3D information as the single molecule moves through the cell.  To support this effort, I am developing biological models which produce exosomes tagged with different fluorophores.  These models are derived from HeLa cells, saccharomyces Cerevisiae, and NIH3T3 fibroblast cells.These tagged exosomes will assist in the design, calibration, and validation of this new form of microscopy.  This technology will provide direct evidence, which, when combined with biochemical research, will provide an accurate model of the exosome pathway.