Alissa Weaver,
Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology,
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Dr. Alissa Weaver is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She also directs the Vanderbilt Program for Extracellular Vesicle Research. The overall goal of her research is to understand the function of extracellular vesicles and how they drive tumor metastasis. The laboratory has a particular focus on how secretion of exosome-type extracellular vesicles promote cancer cell invasion and motility and alter the tumor microenvironment. The laboratory is also studying fundamental questions in the extracellular vesicle (EV) field, including how RNA and protein cargoes are sorted into EVs, how secretion of exosomes is controlled, the role of specific EV cargoes in driving tumor behavior, and the impact of EVs on functions of recipient cells across a variety of biological contexts. You can access the Weaver Lab home page by going to https://my.vanderbilt.edu/alissaweaver/.
Biogenesis of RNA-containing Extracellular Vesicles
Tuesday, 14 December 2021 at 09:30
Add to Calendar ▼2021-12-14 09:30:002021-12-14 10:30:00Europe/LondonBiogenesis of RNA-containing Extracellular VesiclesExtracellular Vesicles (EVs): Technologies and Biological Investigations in Coronado Island, CaliforniaCoronado Island, CaliforniaSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) carried by extracellular vesicles (EVs) can affect gene expression, function, and phenotypes of recipient cells. While a number of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) are known to carry RNAs into extracellular vesicles (EVs), where and how in the cell this occurs is unclear. As many RBP-RNA complexes are associated with the endoplasmic reticulum, we investigated whether membrane contact sites (ER MCS) with endosomes may drive the biogenesis of RNA-containing EVs. To carry out this study, we used RNA-sequencing, lipidomic, confocal and transmission electron microscopy, tumor xenograft and various biochemical techniques to analyze EV biogenesis and cargo content in colon cancer cell lines molecularly engineered for molecules that control ER MCS. We uncovered a novel pathway of EV biogenesis that takes place at ER MCS. Our data suggest a model in which lipid transfer at ER MCS drives biogenesis of a select subpopulation of EVs containing RNA-RBP complexes. Beyond improving our understanding of EV biogenesis, we anticipate that these findings may be useful for future engineering of therapeutic EVs as well as exploring the functions of RNA-containing EVs.
Add to Calendar ▼2021-12-13 00:00:002021-12-15 00:00:00Europe/LondonExtracellular Vesicles (EVs): Technologies and Biological InvestigationsExtracellular Vesicles (EVs): Technologies and Biological Investigations in Coronado Island, CaliforniaCoronado Island, CaliforniaSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
Add to Calendar ▼2021-12-14 09:30:002021-12-14 10:30:00Europe/LondonBiogenesis of RNA-containing Extracellular VesiclesExtracellular Vesicles (EVs): Technologies and Biological Investigations in Coronado Island, CaliforniaCoronado Island, CaliforniaSELECTBIOenquiries@selectbiosciences.com
