Biology subjects

Wilson, J. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Wilson, J. T..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Culture conditions greatly impact the levels of vesicular and extravesicular Ago2 and RNA in extracellular vesicle preparations.

Extracellular vesicle (EV)-carried miRNAs can influence gene expression and functional phenotypes in recipient cells. Argonaute 2 (Ago2) is a key miRNA-binding protein that has been identified in EVs and could influence RNA silencing. However, Ago2 is in a non-vesicular form in serum and can be an EV contaminant. In addition, RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), including Ago2, and RNAs are often minor EV components whose sorting into EVs may be regulated by cell signaling state. To determine the conditions that influence detection of RBPs and RNAs in EVs, we evaluated the effect of growth factors, oncogene signaling, serum, and cell density on the vesicular and nonvesicular content of Ago2, other RBPs, and RNA in small EV (SEV) preparations. Media components affected both the intravesicular and extravesicular levels of RBPs and miRNAs in EVs, with serum contributing strongly to extravesicular miRNA contamination. Furthermore, isolation of EVs from hollow fiber bioreactors revealed complex preparations, with multiple EV-containing peaks and a large amount of extravesicular Ago2/RBPs. Finally, KRAS mutation impacts the detection of intra- and extra-vesicular Ago2. These data indicate that multiple cell culture conditions and cell states impact the presence of RBPs in EV preparations, some of which can be attributed to serum contamination.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

A Nanoparticle RIG-I Agonist for Cancer Immunotherapy

Pharmacological activation of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) pathway holds promise for increasing tumor immunogenicity and improving response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). However, the potency and clinical efficacy of 5-triphosphate RNA (3pRNA) agonists of RIG-I is hindered by multiple pharmacological barriers, including poor pharmacokinetics, nuclease degradation, and inefficient delivery to the cytosol where RIG-I is localized. Here, we address these challenges through the design and evaluation of ionizable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the delivery of 3p-modified stem-loop RNAs (SLRs). Packaging of SLRs into LNPs (SLR-LNPs) yielded surface charge-neutral nanoparticles with a size of [~]100 nm that activated RIG-I signaling in vitro and in vivo. SLR-LNPs were safely administered to mice via both intratumoral and intravenous routes, resulting in RIG-I activation in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and inhibition of tumor growth in mouse models of poorly immunogenic melanoma and breast cancer. Significantly, we found that systemic administration of SLR-LNPs reprogrammed the breast TME to enhance the infiltration of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells with antitumor function, resulting in enhanced response to PD-1 ICI in an orthotopic EO771 model of triple negative breast cancer. Therapeutic efficacy was further demonstrated in a metastatic B16.F10 melanoma model, with systemically administered SLR-LNPs significantly reducing lung metastatic burden compared to combined PD-1 + CTLA-4 ICI. Collectively, these studies have established SLR-LNPs as a translationally promising immunotherapeutic nanomedicine for potent and selective activation of RIG-I with potential to enhance response to ICIs and other immunotherapeutic modalities.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2022

EV Fingerprinting: Resolving extracellular vesicle heterogeneity using multi-parametric flow cytometry

Mammalian cells release a heterogeneous array of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that impact human biology by contributing to intercellular communication. To resolve EV heterogeneity and define the EV populations associated with specific biological processes, we developed a method named "EV Fingerprinting" that discerns distinct vesicle populations using dimensional reduction of multi-parametric data collected by quantitative single-EV flow cytometry. After validating this method against synthetic standards, the EV Fingerprinting analysis of highly purified EVs enabled a much more granular resolution of biochemically distinct EV populations than previously established methods. The analysis of EVs produced after molecular perturbation of EV biogenesis through ablation of the GTPase Rab27a and overexpression of the tetraspanin CD63 revealed that EV Fingerprinting reflects the molecular state of a cell. Subsequent analysis of human plasma demonstrates the capacity of EV Fingerprinting to resolve EV populations in complex biological samples and detect tumor-cell derived EVs.

cell biology↗