Abstract

RNA Binding Proteins and Small RNA Transcriptome of Extracellular Vesicles

Imre Mager, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, University of Oxford

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate specific functions in cell-to-cell communication in health and disease by delivering or displaying biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, such as miRNA, to their recipient cells. In order to understand miRNA content in EVs better, in relation to other small RNA species, we conducted next generation sequencing and proteomics experiments of EV samples derived from number of different cell types. Whereas EVs contain significant amount or miRNA, it is not the main EV-associated RNA species even among small RNAs. This is also reflected by the presence of respective RNA binding proteins of EVs. These findings are interesting in the context of EV biology, but also important for EV bioengineering for RNA delivery and for developing EVs for potential biomarkers.