{"id":508952,"date":"2022-01-28T10:22:01","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T15:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=508952"},"modified":"2024-01-04T10:23:25","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T15:23:25","slug":"nanomembranes-capture-extracellular-vesicles-functionality-508952","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/nanomembranes-capture-extracellular-vesicles-functionality-508952\/","title":{"rendered":"Rochester membranes help researchers capture tiny, telltale vesicles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Extracellular vesicles could provide early detection of diseases such as cancer. But to analyze EVs, scientists first need to catch them.<\/h2>\n

Researchers from the University of Rochester<\/a> and University of Chicago teamed up for one of the first known projects to successfully isolate and study extracellular vesicles (EVs).<\/p>\n

Extracellular vesicles are tiny particles\u2014as small as 40 nanometers in diameter\u2014released by cells into the bloodstream and other fluid-filled cavities. EVs carry proteins, lipids, metabolites, and genetic material unique to the cells that release them. As a result, they could serve as valuable biomarkers for the early detection of diseases, including cancer\u2014especially if single EVs could be assessed individually.<\/p>\n

To this end, the researchers adapted nanomembranes from the lab of James McGrath, a professor of biomedical engineering<\/a> at the University of Rochester, in a microfluidic cross-flow filtration system to capture and study individual EVs. Their findings appear in Communications Biology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018First foray\u2019 into functionality of extracellular vesicles<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cIf the vesicles carried important genetic material, you\u2019d want a fairly stable pH in that environment,\u201d says Deborah Nelson, a professor of pharmacological and physiological sciences at Chicago. \u201cSo, we wanted to ask a basic question: Are there proteins in the vesicle surface that could be responsible for maintaining a stable pH environment in the inside of the vesicle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Once the researchers were able to stabilize the vesicles on a membrane in the filtration system, they could look at them with a powerful microscope and measure changes in the vesicles\u2019 pH levels over time or in response to changes in the solution. As a result, Nelson and Vladimir Riazanski, a research associate professor in her lab, discovered that the EVs have a transporter protein on their surface called a sodium hydrogen exchanger, common to all epithelial cells.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you have a mechanical platform that allows you to study function in a quantitative way, now we can look at how you might be able to recognize altered EVs and isolate certain subsets of the population,\u201d Nelson says. \u201cThis was a first foray into understanding their functions at the single vesicle level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"microfluidic
A microfluidic cross-flow filtration system like the one used to capture individual extracellular vesicles, mounted on the platform of a high-powered microscope. (Image courtesy of McGrath Lab)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Catch EVs as you can<\/strong><\/h3>\n

McGrath\u2019s lab has pioneered the development of ultrathin membranes\u2014just 100 nanometers thick\u2014that are made from silicon nitride. The membranes contain billions of tiny pores, which can capture EVs and other tiny particles in microfluidics devices that circulate different fluids around the particles in a controlled manner and measure the responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re particularly interested in the diagnostic potential of extracellular vesicles,\u201d McGrath says. \u201cBecause tumor cells shed them abundantly, long before you ever manifest symptoms, these small clues are floating in your bloodstream as potential biomarkers. Our materials have the ability to catch and isolate individual EVs because the membrane pores and EVs are about the same size.\u201d<\/p>\n

McGrath is excited that the collaboration resulted in a groundbreaking application for the membranes. \u201cAnytime our materials help a collaborator do first-of-a-kind science, it\u2019s a big deal,\u201d McGrath says. \u201cThis paper uses our materials to reveal an important detail in biology that has never been seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Produced by all types of cells in the body, EVs were originally thought to be like little garbage bags, carrying away junk from the cells. However, as researchers learned more, they began to see evidence that EVs affect cells around them by binding to receptors, initiating signal pathways, and even traveling over a distance to a target cell\u2014which some researchers believe could play a role in cancer metastasis. And yet, a better understanding of extracellular vesicle functionality means that some of these same processes could eventually be harnessed to deliver targeted cancer-fighting therapies and drugs.<\/p>\n

The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense supported the study. Additional authors include Gerardo Mauleon and Adriana M. Zimnicka from the University of Chicago and Kilean Lucas and Samuel Walker from the University of Rochester.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n

\"detail\u2018Organ on a chip\u2019 is the wave of the future<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Rochester researchers are building technology to predict the course of tendon injuries\u2014a form of personalized medicine that will lead to more effective treatments.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"cross-sectionRochester to advance research in biological imaging through new grant<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A multidisciplinary collaboration will create a new light-sheet microscope on campus, allowing 3D imaging of complex cellular structures.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"illustrationSmaller is better for detecting biomarkers of trauma and cancer<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Detecting tiny biomarkers circulating in our bodies is problematic and costly. Researchers are developing a cost-effective detection device using nanotechnology.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Extracellular vesicles could provide early detection of diseases such as cancer. But to analyze EVs, scientists first need to catch them. That\u2019s where Rochester professor James McGrath\u2019s nanomembranes come in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":508962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[18742,29502,18632,19182,18572],"class_list":["post-508952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-tech","tag-department-of-biomedical-engineering","tag-featured-post-side","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-james-mcgrath","tag-research-finding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRochester membranes help researchers capture tiny, telltale vesicles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Researchers from the Universities of Rochester and Chicago teamed up to successfully isolate and study extracellular vesicles.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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