Microvesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane vesicles that are released from cells. EVs are newly implicated in signaling, intercellular communication, and in disease progression. EVs are extremely heterogeneous but can be broadly divided into exosomes and microvesicles. Exosomes are generated from intracellular endosomal compartments while microvesicles bud directly from the plasma membrane. Very little is known about how different types of EVs are generated, whether there are specific cargoes associated with EVs, and what their relevance is to development, neuronal survival and degeneration.

This is a new direction in the lab and studies are focused on defining the molecular pathways involved in microvesicle biogenesis and on examining their roles in development and disease.

Methodologies used in these studies include biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, mouse genetics, proteomics, primary neuronal and oligodendrocyte cultures, cell lines, analysis of postmortem human tissue, next generation sequencing and imaging.