Cell Guidance Systems Blog

Anti-oxidants, omega-3, calcium and vitamins etc, have been linked to health benefits. Producers of foods containing these nutrients highlight these health-giving properties to promote sales. Might exosomes soon be added to the list? A growing understanding of the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) points to the remarkable potential of food-derived exosomes (FDEs) as a distinct dietary component with nutritional benefits.

Chromosomal alterations underlie numerous medical conditions, with clinical detection of chromosome changes being a key feature of genetic diagnostics. Chromosomal alterations are also important in research, affecting the behaviour of cells and impacting the interpretation of data generated with them.

The goal of precision medicine is to understand the factors that contribute to the variability in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drugs. It is now clear that the gut microbiome plays a critical role in the markedly different responses of individuals to identical drug therapy.

A team at UC Davis Medical Centre in Sacramento, California, have used mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) patches to treat spina bifida. Although still experimental, with outcomes yet unknown in the few babies that received the treatment, earlier work on English bulldogs and other models of spinal cord injury suggests this approach may be useful to treat spina bifida.

Cells constantly exchange material with their surroundings. At one end of the ingestion scale, nutrients are adsorbed by mechanisms such as endocytosis. At the other end, entire cells can be swallowed by another cell. Terms such as entosis, emperitosis, phagoptosis and, simply, cannibalism, describe these fascinating phenomena.

Exosomes possess an exceptional ability to target specific cells and deliver a highly heterogenous cargo reflective of the type and physiological/pathological conditions of the cell that produced them. Both exosomes and interleukins are critical cellular messengers for the modulation of cellular functions. In recent years, the important role that interleukins within circulating exosomes play in disease and normal tissue homeostasis has become clear.

Great strides have been made in recent years in treating some cancers, such as melanoma. But despite huge efforts, little progress has been made in improving the odds for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). 95% of individuals receiving a diagnosis of PDAC survive less than 18 months. It is the worst prognosis of any cancer, making it set to be the second biggest cause of cancer mortality by 2030. Why is PDAC so difficult to treat and what strategies are being developed?

Many of the exosomes generated within the tumour microenvironment (TME) are not actually produced by cancer cells. Rather, they are produced by cancer-associated stromal cells and infiltrating immune cells. The role of exosomes generated by immune cells within the TME and their potential for therapeutic use is the focus of many research teams.

Extracellular proteins and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) within the extracellular matrix (ECM) undergo limited enzymatic cleavage to release fragments which exert biological activities that are distinct from their full-length progenitors. These fragments regulate a range of processes including angiogenesis, inflammation, wound healing and fibrosis and have been implicated in many diseases including neurodegeneration and cancer.

Just like people, cells can take a while to adapt to a new environment. For cells cultured in-vivo, its possible to wean cells on to new conditions. However, when cells are implanted, moving from in-vitro to in-vivo conditions, weaning isn’t an option. The resultant culture shock can kill most of the transplanted cells.