From Trash to Treasure: Extracellular Vesicles in Pediatric Innovation

Post Date: December 10, 2024 | Publish Date:

innovation

Graphic image depicts relative size of parts of a cell including exosomes.

In the realm of medical research, sometimes what appears to be cellular “trash” can turn out to be a treasure trove of information. This is the case with extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny particles once dismissed as cellular debris but now recognized as powerful tools in diagnostics and potential therapeutics. On October 9, Cincinnati Children’s Innovation Ventures hosted a webinar featuring Shawn Guse, co-founder, president and CEO, and Kimberly Luke, PhD, VP of R&D at Intuitive Biosciences, that described the potential of exosomes to pioneer new diagnostic methods. Intuitive Biosciences is a small company who works directly with scientists and clinical researchers to use established biomarkers found in exosomes for the advancement of novel diagnostics and therapeutics.

What are Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)?

Extracellular vesicles, also known as exosomes, are minuscule enveloped particles released by virtually all cells in our bodies. “Extracellular vesicles are defined as small, enveloped particles,” Luke explains. “They’re released from all cells into the extracellular environment, and so a key function for them is to be a way for cells to communicate with each other by sending little packages of information into the extracellular space.”

To put their size into perspective, if a red blood cell were the size of a tennis ball, an EV would be smaller than a grain of salt! Despite their tiny size, these vesicles play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication, carrying important molecular cargo that can influence the behavior of other cells.

Diagram illustrating features of exosomes and extracellular vesicles with labeled surface and cargo molecules, including tetraspanins, antigens, proteins, and lipids.

What do EVs do?

These bubble-like vesicles carry valuable molecular information.

Surface molecules that can tell us about their origin
Proteins that reflect cellular processes
Nucleic acids, including microRNAs, which can influence gene expression
Lipids with unique compositions

Each of these components could serve as a biomarker for various health conditions. Luke shared promising use cases for exosomes including novel biomarker detection for early HIV infection and development of better differential PSA tests for prostate cancer.

Why are EVs Exciting for Pediatric Clinical Practice and Research?

While the field of EV research is still young, it’s growing rapidly. There are many potential applications of these vesicles as a novel source of established biomarkers.

Non-Invasive Diagnostics: EVs can be found in easily accessible bodily fluids like blood, urine and saliva. This means we could potentially diagnose conditions in children without the need for invasive procedures.
Early Disease Detection: The contents of EVs reflect the state of the cells that produced them. This could allow us to detect diseases in their earliest stages, even before symptoms appear.
Personalized Medicine: By analyzing a child’s EVs, we might be able to tailor treatments more effectively to their individual needs.
Understanding Development: EVs play a role in normal cellular processes. Studying them could give us new insights into child development and growth.
Potential Therapeutics: Research is ongoing into using EVs as a delivery system for drugs or as therapeutics themselves.

The Road Ahead

As this field evolves, exosomes have the potential to enable a treasure trove of less invasive diagnostics, more targeted treatments and greater understanding of child development.