Project description:There are unique stressors in the spaceflight environment. Exposure to such stressors is associated with adverse effects on astronauts' health, including increased cancer and cardiovascular disease risks. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs, i.e., exosomes) play a vital role in intercellular communication and regulate various biological processes contributing to their role in disease pathogenesis. To assess whether spaceflight alters sEVs transcriptome profile, sEVs were isolated from the blood plasma of 3 astronauts at two different time points: 10 days before launch (L-10) and 3 days after return (R+3) from the Shuttle mission. Human adult ventricular cardiomyocyte cells (AC16) were treated with L-10 and R+3 astronauts-derived exosomes for 24 hours. Total RNA was isolated and analyzed for gene expression profiling using Affymetrix microarrays. Enrichment analysis was performed using Enrichr. Transcription factor enrichment analysis using the ENCODE/ChEA Consensus TF database identified gene sets related to the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and Vitamin D receptor (VDR) in AC16 cells treated with R+3 compared to cells treated with L-10 astronauts-derived exosomes. Further analysis of the histone modifications using datasets from the Roadmap Epigenomics Project confirmed enrichment in gene sets related to the H3K27me3 repressive mark. Interestingly, analysis of previously published H3K27me3–chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) ENCODE datasets showed enrichment of H3K27me3 in the VDR promoter. Collectively, our results suggest that astronaut-derived sEVs may epigenetically repress the expression of the VDR in human adult cardiomyocytes c by promoting the activation of the PRC2 complex and H3K27me3 levels.
Project description:This study aimed to determine whether the spaceflight-induced snoRNA changes in plasma extracellular vesicles (EV) and astronauts' peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) can be utilized as potential biomarkers. Using unbiased small RNA sequencing, we evaluated the EV snoRNA changes in peripheral blood (PB) plasma of astronauts (n=5/group) who underwent median 12-day long Shuttle missions between 1998-2001. Using stringent cutoff (> log 2-fold change, FDR < 0.05), we detected 21 down-regulated snoRNAs and 9 upregulated in PB-EVs at three days after return (R+3) compared to ten days before launch (L-10). Our findings unveiled that spaceflight induced changes in EV and PBMCs snoRNA expression, thus suggesting snoRNAs may serve as novel biomarkers for monitoring astronauts' health.
Project description:Exosomes were isolated from plasma of healthy donors (HD) and patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE). miRNA profiling of plasma-derived exosomes was performed using nCounter SPRINT system. miRNA levels were compared between HD and HAE patients.
Project description:Exosomes were isolated from plasma and saliva of healthy individuals and head and neck cancer (HNSCC) patients. miRNA profiling of plasma- and saliva-derived exosomes was performed using nCounter SPRINT system. Diagnostic panels were selected from the exosomal miRNA profile.
Project description:We sought to determine whether the spaceflight environment can induce alterations in small extracellular vesicles (sEV) smallRNA content and their utility as biomarkers. Using small RNA sequencing (sRNAseq), we evaluated the impact of the spaceflight environment on sEV miRNA content in peripheral blood (PB) plasma of 14 astronauts, who flew STS missions between 1998-2001. Samples were collected at three-time points:10 days before the launch (L-10), the day of return (R-0), and three days post-landing (R+3).
Project description:Despite a significant progress in the treatment of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), our ability to identify early patients and predict outcome remains limited. In this study, we aimed to characterize small RNA content of plasma exosomes from ARDS patients in order to identify potential diagnostic biomarkers of the disease. For the first time, we profiled miRNA expression levels in plasma-derived exosomes from ARDS patients (n=8) compared to healthy subjects (n=10) by small RNA-seq. It allowed us to identify 12 exosomal miRNAs differentially expressed in ARDS context (padj<0.05).
Project description:Purpose:Early diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is vital to improve the prognosis of these patients. However, early diagnosis of NPC is typically challenging.Therefore, we explored the roles and mechanisms of exosomes in plasma of patients with early-stage NPC. Methods: Exosomes in plasma were extracted by ultra-high-speed centrifugation.Western blot and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to verify the purity of exosomes. The sequencing data (6 plasma samples from healthy volunteers vs. 6 NPC plasma samples) were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA), DESeq2, gene ontology (GO), kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and TargetScan. The differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) were obtained from the dataset (GSE118720) downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository. Additionally, the datasets downloaded from the GEO database (GSE12452, GSE13597, GSE53819, GSE64634) were used to predict the target genes and functions of hsa-miR-1301-3p. qPCR was applied to verify the differences in the expressions of hsa-miR-1301-3p between 10 normal plasma and 10 NPC plasma samples. Results:Western blot, TEM, and Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis showed adequate purity of the extracted exosomes. RNA-seq analysis revealed 21 upregulated miRNAs, and 10 downregulated miRNAs in plasma exosomes of early-stage NPC patients. GO analysis showed that the target genes of DEmiRNAs were mainly enriched in DNA synthesis and transcription regulation. KEGG analysis revealed that DEmiRNAs were mainly enriched in PI3K-Akt and MAPK signaling pathways. Moreover, the expression of hsa-mir-1301-3p was verified to be significantly upregulated in enlarged samples of plasma exosomes. Conclusions:We identified several DEmiRNAs extracted from tumor-derived exosomes between normal plasma and early-stage NPC plasma. Bioinformatics analyses indicated that these DEmiRNAs may be related to NPC development. Our study may provide novel insights into underlying biomarkers and mechanisms of plasma exosomes in early-stage NPC.
Project description:There are unique stressors in the spaceflight environment. Exposure to such stressors may be associated with adverse effects on astronauts' health, including increased cancer and cardiovascular disease risks. Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs, i.e., exosomes) play a vital role in intercellular communication and regulate various biological processes contributing to their role in disease pathogenesis. To assess whether spaceflight alters sEVs transcriptome profile, sEVs were isolated from the blood plasma of 3 astronauts at two different time points: 10 days before launch (L-10) and 3 days after return (R+3) from the Shuttle mission. AC16 cells (human cardiomyocyte cell line) were treated with L-10 and R+3 astronauts-derived exosomes for 24 h. Total RNA was isolated and analyzed for gene expression profiling using Affymetrix microarrays. Enrichment analysis was performed using Enrichr. Transcription factor (TF) enrichment analysis using the ENCODE/ChEA Consensus TF database identified gene sets related to the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and Vitamin D receptor (VDR) in AC16 cells treated with R+3 compared to cells treated with L-10 astronauts-derived exosomes. Further analysis of the histone modifications using datasets from the Roadmap Epigenomics Project confirmed enrichment in gene sets related to the H3K27me3 repressive mark. Interestingly, analysis of previously published H3K27me3-chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) ENCODE datasets showed enrichment of H3K27me3 in the VDR promoter. Collectively, our results suggest that astronaut-derived sEVs may epigenetically repress the expression of the VDR in human adult cardiomyocytes by promoting the activation of the PRC2 complex and H3K27me3 levels.