Resources
Authors & Affiliations
Diana Mjartinová, Karolína Albertusová, Miraj Ud Din Momand, Ľubica Fialová, Dominika Fričová
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enveloped nanoparticles released into the extracellular space by almost all cell types. They have been shown to spread α-synuclein (αSyn) – the main pathological hallmark of Parkinson´s disease (PD) – and miRNAs that can influence the expression of genes associated with PD progression. On this basis, they are becoming interesting as diagnostic biomarkers. So far, however, data from patients are heterogeneous and inconsistent. Therefore, we aim to use a cellular model that allows us to investigate the role of EVs in PD pathology on a homogeneous genetic background. We have created a cellular PD model stable overexpressing the gene encoding wild-type (WT) or mutant A53T variant of αSyn tagged with GFP. For the basic characterization of EVs (concentration, size) we use Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). The RNA and protein content of the EVs, with particular focus on αSyn, is monitored by qPCR and Western blot. We performed co-cultivation experiments of cells with EVs to show their biological effect. To approximate PD conditions, we treated these cells with different stressors that cause oxidative stress or senescence.Currently, we are working in the direction of studying the miRNA content of EVs and looking for disease-specific patterns in the miRNAs obtained from our cellular model compared to the control without αSyn overproduction. This part of the study will be performed using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. The sequencing data obtained from the cell lines will help cluster heterogeneous data from PD patients, which we also plan to analyze.