{"487471":{"#nid":"487471","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Center Will Develop Consistent Manufacturing Processes for Cell-based Therapies","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA $15.7 million grant from the Atlanta-based Marcus Foundation has helped launch a new Georgia Institute of Technology research center that will develop processes and techniques for ensuring the consistent, low-cost, large-scale manufacture of high-quality living cells used in cell-based therapies. The therapies will be used for a variety of disorders such as cancer, lung fibrosis, autism, neuro-degenerative diseases, autoimmune disorders and spinal-cord injury \u2013 as well as in regenerative medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe work of the new Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing (MC3M) will help provide standardized production and quality testing for these living cells, which have great therapeutic potential. Standardized manufacturing techniques already exist for drug-based pharmaceuticals; the new center will help provide similar methods and standards for manufacturing therapeutic cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExpected to be the first of its kind in the United States, the center will include a validation facility for good manufacturing practices in cell production. In addition to The Marcus Foundation, funding will come from the Georgia Research Alliance and Georgia Tech sources for a total investment of $23 million. The center will also seek support from federal agencies, clinical research organizations and other sources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe aspirin you buy today from one pharmacy is essentially the same as the aspirin you buy from another pharmacy, but cell-based therapies may have different efficacy depending on the source and manufacturing processes,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Krishnendu-Roy\u0022\u003EKrishnendu Roy\u003C\/a\u003E, Robert A. Milton Chair and professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech and Emory University. \u201cThere are established ways to quickly assess the efficacy and safety of small-molecule drugs that are acceptable around the world. We want to develop and establish similar processes for therapeutic cell manufacturing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, the growing need for these cell therapeutics could require large-scale production facilities similar to those used in today\u2019s pharmaceutical production. But living stem cells and immune system cells are readily affected by the varying conditions under which they are grown, stored and packaged, meaning the same type of cell produced at different facilities could behave very differently. Unless those cells can be produced with consistency, in large scale and at low cost with high quality, use of the new cell therapies could be limited and their promise would not extend to large numbers of patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe critical goal is to either minimize differences caused by varying manufacturing conditions, or to have a very defined characterization process so we exactly know how much the cells have changed and what specific characteristics are predictive of their efficacy in patients,\u201d explained Roy, who will lead the new center. \u201cThat consistency will allow us to produce affordable products that can make this new technology available to the large community of people who need it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new center will collaborate with research and clinical institutions around the country, especially those at which The Marcus Foundation funds research on cell-based therapies, including Duke University, the University of Miami, City of Hope, Emory University, as well as the University of Georgia and other national and international universities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAccess to this network will provide us a huge advantage by bringing together experts to work on a common problem,\u201d Roy said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Stem cell treatments and cell-based immunotherapies are, and will be, the treatment of the future,\u201d said Bernie Marcus, who co-founded The Home Depot. \u201cManufacturing and characterization of stem cells and immune cells is a major first step, and that is why The Marcus Foundation chose Georgia Tech and its teams \u2013 they have the experience and the personnel to achieve key goals in this process.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new center will be a collaboration among research groups at Georgia Tech, as well as numerous outside institutions, noted Georgia Tech President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cReproducible production of high-quality therapeutic cells and understanding what markers predict cell effectiveness could give clinicians worldwide new tools in the battle against some of the most difficult human health challenges we face today,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cTransitioning these cells into broad clinical use will require the kind of multidisciplinary collaboration that Georgia Tech is known for. Beyond Georgia Tech, this effort will involve The Marcus Foundation, top clinical institutions, the private sector and the Georgia Research Alliance.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe center will involve multiple research organizations at Georgia Tech, including the Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology, the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute and the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. Also involved will be faculty researchers from the College of Sciences, College of Computing, and various schools in the College of Engineering, which includes the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering operated by Georgia Tech and Emory University. The center will also work closely with the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech, the Georgia Immunoengineering Consortium, and the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine (REM) Center, a partnership between Georgia Tech, Emory University and the University of Georgia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is no question that stem cell and immune cell manufacturing have the potential to significantly impact our lives, especially as we age,\u201d said Ravi Bellamkonda, chair of the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. \u201cWe are fortunate to have a visionary foundation in The Marcus Foundation, and the foresight of the Georgia Research Alliance providing leadership in this endeavor.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWork of the center will help make new cell-based therapies more widely available to patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe timing of this investment in cell manufacturing by The Marcus Foundation is absolutely critical,\u201d said Robert E. Guldberg, executive director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. \u201cCell therapies are being evaluated in nearly 9,000 clinical trials worldwide, but their potential to impact human healthcare will be severely limited until we can scale up their production reproducibly and at low cost. There are currently FDA-approved, clinically effective cell therapy products sitting on the shelf and unavailable to patients because the cost of manufacturing them is simply too high.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cell manufacturing effort grew, in part, out of a major planning grant awarded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to the Georgia Research Alliance in 2014. That effort focused on developing a road map for cell manufacturing in the state of Georgia \u2013 an initiative expected to provide significant economic development benefits. Georgia Tech has been leading this road mapping effort that involves more than 30 industry partners and 16 academic institutions as well as key federal agencies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe NIST grant kick-started our efforts to develop a national road map for cell manufacturing,\u201d said Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance. \u201cThe cell manufacturing industry is an emerging and growing industry with annual revenues of about $1 billion. This initiative has the potential to turn scientific research into new businesses and jobs for Georgia.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInitial funding is for five years, and ultimately the center will be expected to support itself with corporate, government and nonprofit funding, Roy said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a unique public-private philanthropic partnership to address a grand challenge,\u201d he added. \u201cWe hope to make significant contributions to improving cell-based treatments and lowering their cost. This could provide huge benefit not only to the health of our fellow citizens, both adults and children, but as a manufacturing initiative, could be transformative to the economic development and workforce in Georgia.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986) (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA $15.7 million grant from the Atlanta-based Marcus Foundation has helped launch a new Georgia Institute of Technology research center that will develop processes and techniques for ensuring the consistent, low-cost, large-scale manufacture of high-quality living cells used in cell-based therapies.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A new research center will develop processes and techniques for ensuring the consistent, low-cost, large-scale manufacture of high-quality living cells used in cell-based therapies."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2016-01-18 14:06:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:24","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"487451":{"id":"487451","type":"image","title":"MC3M Center1","body":null,"created":"1453233601","gmt_created":"2016-01-19 20:00:01","changed":"1475895242","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:02","alt":"MC3M Center1","file":{"fid":"204351","name":"cell-manufacturing-008.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cell-manufacturing-008_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cell-manufacturing-008_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1695163,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cell-manufacturing-008_0.jpg?itok=1NJ9k33z"}},"487461":{"id":"487461","type":"image","title":"MC3M Center2","body":null,"created":"1453233601","gmt_created":"2016-01-19 20:00:01","changed":"1475895242","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:02","alt":"MC3M Center2","file":{"fid":"204352","name":"cell-manufacturing-010.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cell-manufacturing-010_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/cell-manufacturing-010_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1718727,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/cell-manufacturing-010_0.jpg?itok=iuxAmONx"}}},"media_ids":["487451","487461"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"93181","name":"Cell Manufacturing"},{"id":"9534","name":"cell therapy"},{"id":"12786","name":"Krishnendu Roy"},{"id":"1489","name":"Regenerative Medicine"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"},{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"535271":{"#nid":"535271","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Common Nanoparticle has Subtle Effects on Oxidative Stress Genes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA nanoparticle commonly used in food, cosmetics, sunscreen and other products can have subtle effects on the activity of genes expressing enzymes that address oxidative stress inside two types of cells. While the titanium dioxide (TiO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E) nanoparticles are considered non-toxic because they don\u2019t kill cells at low concentrations, these cellular effects could add to concerns about long-term exposure to the nanomaterial.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology used high-throughput screening techniques to study the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the expression of 84 genes related to cellular oxidative stress. Their work found that six genes, four of them from a single gene family, were affected by a 24-hour exposure to the nanoparticles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe effect was seen in two different kinds of cells exposed to the nanoparticles: human HeLa cancer cells commonly used in research, and a line of monkey kidney cells. Polystyrene nanoparticles similar in size and surface electrical charge to the titanium dioxide nanoparticles did not produce a similar effect on gene expression.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is important because every standard measure of cell health shows that cells are not affected by these titanium dioxide nanoparticles,\u201d said Christine Payne, an associate professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. \u201cOur results show that there is a more subtle change in oxidative stress that could be damaging to cells or lead to long-term changes. This suggests that other nanoparticles should be screened for similar low-level effects.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research was reported online May 6 in the \u003Cem\u003EJournal of Physical Chemistry C\u003C\/em\u003E. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the HERCULES Center at Emory University, and by a Vasser Woolley Fellowship.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETitanium dioxide nanoparticles help make powdered donuts white, protect skin from the sun\u2019s rays and reflect light in painted surfaces. In concentrations commonly used, they are considered non-toxic, though several other studies have raised concern about potential effects on gene expression that may not directly impact the short-term health of cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo determine whether the nanoparticles could affect genes involved in managing oxidative stress in cells, Payne and colleague Melissa Kemp \u2013 an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University \u2013 designed a study to broadly evaluate the nanoparticle\u2019s impact on the two cell lines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWorking with graduate students Sabiha Runa and Dipesh Khanal, they separately incubated HeLa cells and monkey kidney cells with titanium oxide at levels 100 times less than the minimum concentration known to initiate effects on cell health. After incubating the cells for 24 hours with the TiO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E, the cells were lysed and their contents analyzed using both PCR and Western Blot techniques to study the expression of 84 genes associated with the cells\u2019 ability to address oxidative processes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPayne and Kemp were surprised to find changes in the expression of six genes, including four from the peroxiredoxin family of enzymes that helps cells degrade hydrogen peroxide, a byproduct of cellular oxidation processes. Too much hydrogen peroxide can create oxidative stress which can damage DNA and other molecules.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe effect measured was significant \u2013 changes of about 50 percent in enzyme expression compared to cells that had not been incubated with nanoparticles. The tests were conducted in triplicate and produced similar results each time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne thing that was really surprising was that this whole family of proteins was affected, though some were up-regulated and some were down-regulated,\u201d Kemp said. \u201cThese were all related proteins, so the question is why they would respond differently to the presence of the nanoparticles.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers aren\u2019t sure how the nanoparticles bind with the cells, but they suspect it may involve the protein corona that surrounds the particles. The corona is made up of serum proteins that normally serve as food for the cells, but adsorb to the nanoparticles in the culture medium. The corona proteins have a protective effect on the cells, but may also serve as a way for the nanoparticles to bind to cell receptors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETitanium dioxide is well known for its photo-catalytic effects under ultraviolet light, but the researchers don\u2019t think that\u2019s in play here because their culturing was done in ambient light \u2013 or in the dark. The individual nanoparticles had diameters of about 21 nanometers, but in cell culture formed much larger aggregates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn future work, Payne and Kemp hope to learn more about the interaction, including where the enzyme-producing proteins are located in the cells. For that, they may use HyPer-Tau, a reporter protein they developed to track the location of hydrogen peroxide within cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research suggests a re-evaluation may be necessary for other nanoparticles that could create subtle effects even though they\u2019ve been deemed safe.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEarlier work had suggested that nanoparticles can lead to oxidative stress, but nobody had really looked at this level and at so many different proteins at the same time,\u201d Payne said. \u201cOur research looked at such low concentrations that it does raise questions about what else might be affected. We looked specifically at oxidative stress, but there may be other genes that are affected, too.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThose subtle differences may matter when they\u2019re added to other factors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOxidative stress is implicated in all kinds of inflammatory and immune responses,\u201d Kemp noted. \u201cWhile the titanium dioxide alone may just be modulating the expression levels of this family of proteins, if that is happening at the same time you have other types of oxidative stress for different reasons, then you may have a cumulative effect.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ESeed funding for the research came from the HERCULES: Exposome Research Center (NIEHS: P30 ES019776) at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, NIH grant DP2OD006483-01 and a Vasser Woolley Faculty Fellowship. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATION\u003C\/strong\u003E: Sabiha Runa, Dipesh Khanal, Melissa L. Kemp, Christine K. Payne, \u201cTiO2 Nanoparticles Alter the Expression of Peroxiredoxin Anti-Oxidant Genes,\u201d (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016). \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/acs.jpcc.6b01939\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/acs.jpcc.6b01939\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30332-0181 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-894-6986) or Ben Brumfield (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eben.brumfield@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) (404-385-1933).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA nanoparticle commonly used in food, cosmetics, sunscreen and other products can have subtle effects on the activity of genes expressing enzymes that address oxidative stress inside two types of cells. While the titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are considered non-toxic because they don\u2019t kill cells at low concentrations, these cellular effects could add to concerns about long-term exposure to the nanomaterial.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A nanoparticle commonly used in food and other products can have subtle effects on the activity of genes expressing enzymes that address oxidative stress inside two types of cells."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2016-05-10 14:38:59","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:39","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-05-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-05-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"535181":{"id":"535181","type":"image","title":"Culturing HeLa Cells","body":null,"created":"1462982400","gmt_created":"2016-05-11 16:00:00","changed":"1475895319","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:19"},"535211":{"id":"535211","type":"image","title":"HeLa cells incubated with nanoparticles","body":null,"created":"1462982400","gmt_created":"2016-05-11 16:00:00","changed":"1475895319","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:19"},"535221":{"id":"535221","type":"image","title":"Studying nanoparticle interactions with cells","body":null,"created":"1462982400","gmt_created":"2016-05-11 16:00:00","changed":"1475895319","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:19"},"535231":{"id":"535231","type":"image","title":"Studying nanoparticle interactions with cells2","body":null,"created":"1462982400","gmt_created":"2016-05-11 16:00:00","changed":"1475895319","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:19"}},"media_ids":["535181","535211","535221","535231"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8669","name":"Christine Payne"},{"id":"1110","name":"gene"},{"id":"7092","name":"gene expression"},{"id":"5084","name":"Melissa Kemp"},{"id":"2973","name":"nanoparticles"},{"id":"170266","name":"oxidative stress"},{"id":"170267","name":"titanium dioxide"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"534621":{"#nid":"534621","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Exosomes on the Lymphatic Fast Track","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe survival and wellbeing of multicellular organisms depends on good cell-to-cell communication. Helping to carry out this critical information exchange are nanoparticles called exosomes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThese tiny vesicles (smaller than red blood cells), discovered about 35 years ago, were initially thought of as little dumpsters for unwanted cellular material. But further study of exosomes demonstrated their role as long-distance couriers with specific messages to carry \u2013 they can transfer biomolecules (proteins, lipids, genetic material) that impact recipient cells\u2019 functionality in a variety of physiologic and disease processes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIt also turns out that exosomes are in the ideal size range for lymphatic transport, and this is what really interests Brandon Dixon, faculty researcher in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDixon, whose research focuses on lymphatic function, attended a presentation by fellow Petit Institute researcher Fred Vannberg several years ago. Vannberg\u2019s lab uses computer algorithms and genomics to investigate infectious diseases, and this includes the role of exosomes during infection. His presentation that day described the characteristics of exosomes, which when released in the periphery are too big to be taken up by blood vessels, but just right for lymphatic transport.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWhen Fred told me that, I thought that here was a mechanism that seems to have been made to target lymphatics,\u201d says Dixon, associate professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, who leads the Laboratory of Lymphatic Biology and Bioengineering (LLBB). \u201cExosomes are the perfect size when we think of creating contrast agents or drug delivery particles that we want to use to target lymphathics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo, utilizing a Petit Institute seed grant, Dixon and Vannberg brought their distinct skills together to produce a groundbreaking research paper, \u201cLymphatic transport of exosomes as a rapid route of information dissemination to the lymph node,\u201d published last month in the \u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E journal, \u003Cem\u003EScientific Reports\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cLymphatic vessels provide an extremely rapid route for delivery of exosomes from the tissue to the draining lymph node,\u201d Dixon says. \u201cLymphatic transport has been implied in previous publications, but this is the first demonstration of immediate lymphatic transport, a feat we achieved using our non-invasive near-infrared imaging technology and fluorescently labeled exosomes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ETheir results suggest that exosome transfer via lymphatic flow (from the periphery to the lymph node) could enable a rapid exchange of infection-specific information that precedes the arrival of migrating cells, priming the node for a more effective innate immune response, or \u201ca first warning response during infection,\u201d Dixon explains.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWhat\u2019s exciting about this research is, we\u2019re kind of finding out what is happening as part of the real-time response to infection, with the innate immune system being activated in a particular way by these particles,\u201d adds Vannberg, assistant professor in the School of Biology. \u201cAnd that helps guide what\u2019s going to happen a few days later with the adaptive immune response.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIn previous research, Vannberg has tried to quantitate the body\u2019s ability to fight infection, focusing on tuberculosis and leprosy. He became especially interested in exosomes\u2019 role in our immune system\u2019s ability to detect and fight disease after reading the research of Notre Dame researcher Jeff Schorey, who identified exosomes as ideal for diagnostic development.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe collaboration between Vannberg and Dixon is like a research laboratory version of a Marvel super hero saga \u2013 individuals combining disparate skills (\u2018super powers\u2019 in the movie version) to achieve a common goal. Or, as Vannberg says, \u201cthis paper helps highlight both of our areas of expertise \u2013 mine in terms of genomics and infectious diseases, while Brandon is known worldwide for his work in lymphatic biology and his understanding of kinetics.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDixon\u2019s lab was able to determine how fast the particles got delivered to the node \u2013 \u201cwithin a few minutes,\u201d Dixon says. \u201cUntil now, we really had no appreciation of the time scale.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p3\u0022\u003ELead author on the paper was biology grad student Swetha Srinivasan, who is co-advised by Dixon and Vannberg. They designed the experiments and she carried out the experimental work, while all three analyzed the data, wrote and reviewed the manuscript. Their published research illustrates a potentially efficient pathway for targeted therapeutics, somewhere down the line.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe believe this work has far-reaching implications on how biological systems \u2013 like pathogens, immune cells and cancer cells \u2013 could utilize lymphatic transport of exosomes to rapidly manipulate the lymph node environment,\u201d Dixon says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAn upcoming paper will help determine what actually happens when exosomes arrive in the lymph node.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re interested in understanding the immune consequences of exosomes in the context of infection and immunity,\u201d Vannberg says. \u201cFurther research will help explain how these particles can stimulate a quick response and also inform the adaptive response.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/srep24436\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EREAD THE RESEARCH PAPER HERE\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Dixon-Vannberg research supported by Petit Institute Interdisciplinary Seed Grant"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDixon-Vannberg research supported by Petit Institute Interdisciplinary Seed Grant\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Dixon-Vannberg research supported by Petit Institute Interdisciplinary Seed Grant"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2016-05-09 11:40:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:21:39","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-05-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-05-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"534581":{"id":"534581","type":"image","title":"Lymphatic system","body":null,"created":"1462892400","gmt_created":"2016-05-10 15:00:00","changed":"1475895319","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:55:19","alt":"Lymphatic system","file":{"fid":"88789","name":"bigstock-lymphatic-system-1201118.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-lymphatic-system-1201118_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bigstock-lymphatic-system-1201118_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1105130,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bigstock-lymphatic-system-1201118_0.jpg?itok=sqPToqxz"}},"237061":{"id":"237061","type":"image","title":"Assistant professor Brandon Dixon","body":null,"created":"1449243659","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:40:59","changed":"1475894911","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:31","alt":"Assistant professor Brandon Dixon","file":{"fid":"197696","name":"dixon-profile-lab.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dixon-profile-lab_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dixon-profile-lab_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":143203,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dixon-profile-lab_0.jpg?itok=glbRK4DF"}},"302161":{"id":"302161","type":"image","title":"Fred Vannberg","body":null,"created":"1449244592","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:56:32","changed":"1493147592","gmt_changed":"2017-04-25 19:13:12","alt":"","file":{"fid":"199575","name":"vannbergfred2014.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vannbergfred2014_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/vannbergfred2014_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":981984,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/vannbergfred2014_0.jpg?itok=gFSf3Cop"}}},"media_ids":["534581","237061","302161"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}