Aloi, N. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2023

Microalgae as a novel biofactory for biocompatible and bioactive extracellular vesicles

Nanoalgosomes are extracellular vesicles (EVs) released by microalgal cells that can mediate intercellular and cross-kingdom communication. In the present study, starting from the optimized nanoalgosome manufacturing from cultures of marine microalgae, we evaluated their innate biological properties in preclinical models. Our investigation of nanoalgosome biocompatibility included toxicological analyses, starting from studies on the invertebrate model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, proceeding to hematological and immunological evaluations in mice and immune-compatibility ex vivo. Nanoalgosome biodistribution was evaluated in mice with accurate space-time resolution, and in C. elegans at cellular and subcellular levels. Further examination highlighted the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory bioactivities of nanoalgosomes. This holistic approach to nanoalgosome functional characterization showcases that nanoalgosomes are innate effectors and potential drug delivery system for novel cosmetic formulations and EV-based therapies.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Profiling the endothelial translatome in vivo using ‘AngioTag’ zebrafish

Vascular endothelial cells in vivo are exquisitely regulated by their local environment, which is disrupted or absent when using methods such as FACS sorting of cells isolated from animals or in vitro cell culture. Here, we profile the gene expression patterns of undisturbed endothelial cells in living animals using a novel "AngioTag" zebrafish transgenic line that permits isolation of actively translating mRNAs from endothelial cells in their native environment. This transgenic line uses the endothelial cell-specific kdrl promoter to drive expression of an epitope tagged Rpl10a 60S ribosomal subunit protein, allowing for Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP) of actively translating endothelial cell mRNAs. By performing TRAP-RNAseq on AngioTag animals, we demonstrate strong enrichment of endothelial specific genes and uncover novel endothelial genes and unique endothelial gene expression signatures for different adult organs. Finally, we generated a versatile "UAS:RiboTag" transgenic line to allow a wider array of different zebrafish cell and tissue types to be examined using TRAP-RNAseq methods. These new tools offer an unparalleled resource to study the molecular identity of cells in their normal in vivo context.

developmental biology↗