Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson

Vesiclepedia: A Compendium for Extracellular Vesicles with Continuous Community Annotation

Vesiclepedia is a community-annotated compendium of molecular data on extracellular vesicles.

Prostate cancer-derived urine exosomes: a novel approach to biomarkers for prostate cancer

Herein, we describe a novel approach in the search for prostate cancer biomarkers, which relies on the transcriptome within tumour exosomes. As a proof-of-concept, we show the presence of two known prostate cancer biomarkers, PCA-3 and TMPRSS2:ERG the in exosomes isolated from urine of patients, showing the potential for diagnosis and monitoring cancer patients status.

Human Placenta Expresses and Secretes NKG2D Ligands via Exosomes that Down-Modulate the Cognate Receptor Expression: Evidence for Immunosuppressive Function

During mammalian pregnancy maternal-fetal tolerance involves a number of immunosuppressive factors produced by placenta. Recently, placenta-derived exosomes have emerged as new immune regulators in the maternal immune tolerance. Exosomes are membrane nanovesicles with defined morphology, which are secreted from endosomal multivesicular bodies (MVB) upon fusion with the plasma membrane. Previously, we reported that the MHC class I chain-related (MIC) proteins A and B, human ligands of the activating NK cell receptor NKG2D, are expressed by placenta, sorted to MVB of syncytiotrophoblast and probably released via MIC-bearing exosomes. In this report, we show that the second family of human NKG2D ligands, the UL-16 binding proteins (ULBP), is also expressed by placenta. Importantly, this expression was not due to placental CMV infection. Immunoelectron microscopy disclosed that ULBP1–5 are produced and retained in MVB of the syncytiotrophoblast on microvesicles/exosomes. Using human placenta explant cultures and different assays, we demonstrate that exosomes bearing NKG2D ligands are released by human placenta. Isolated placental exosomes carried ULBP1–5 and MIC on their surface and induced down-regulation of the NKG2D receptor on NK, CD8+, and γδ T cells, leading to reduction of their in vitro cytotoxicity without affecting the perforin-mediated lytic pathway. Release of placental NKG2D ligands via exosomes is an alternative mechanism for generation of bioactive soluble form of these ligands. These findings highlight a role for NKG2D ligand-bearing placental exosomes in the fetal immune escape and support the view of placenta as a unique immunosuppressive organ.

Placenta-Derived Soluble MHC Class I Chain-Related Molecules Down-Regulate NKG2D Receptor on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells during Human Pregnancy: A Possible Novel Immune Escape Mechanism for Fetal Survival

Mammalian pregnancy is an intriguing immunological phenomenon where the semiallogeneic fetus is not rejected. Tolerance toward the fetus involves a number of mechanisms associated with modifications of the immune status of the mother. In this study, we strongly suggest a novel mechanism for fetal evasion of maternal immune attack, based on the engagement and down-regulation of the activating NK cell receptor NKG2D on PBMC by soluble MHC class I chain-related proteins A and B (collectively termed MIC). A similar immune escape pathway was previously described in tumors. We found that MIC mRNA was constitutively expressed by human placenta and could be up-regulated upon heat shock treatment. Our immunomorphologic studies showed that the MIC expression in placenta was restricted to the syncytiotrophoblast. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed a dual MIC expression in the syncytiotrophoblast: on the apical and basal cell membrane and in cytoplasmic vacuoles as MIC-loaded microvesicles/exosomes. Soluble MIC molecules were present at elevated levels in maternal blood throughout normal pregnancy and were released by placental explants in vitro. Simultaneously, the cell surface NKG2D expression on maternal PBMC was down-regulated compared with nonpregnant controls. The soluble MIC molecules in pregnancy serum were able to interact with NKG2D and down-regulate the receptor on PBMC from healthy donors, with the consequent inhibition of the NKG2D-dependent cytotoxic response. These findings suggest a new physiological mechanism of silencing the maternal immune system that promotes fetal allograft immune escape and supports the view of the placenta as an immunoregulatory organ.

Thermal- and Oxidative Stress Causes Enhanced Release of NKG2D Ligand-Bearing Immunosuppressive Exosomes in Leukemia/Lymphoma T and B Cells

Immune evasion from NK surveillance related to inadequate NK-cell function has been suggested as an explanation of the high incidence of relapse and fatal outcome of many blood malignancies. In this report we have used Jurkat and Raji cell lines as a model for studies of the NKG2D receptor-ligand system in T-and B cell leukemia/lymphoma. Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR and immunoflow cytometry we show that Jurkat and Raji cells constitutively express mRNA and protein for the stress-inducible NKG2D ligands MICA/B and ULBP1 and 2, and up-regulate the expression in a cell-line specific and stress-specific manner. Furthermore, we revealed by electron microscopy, immunoflow cytometry and western blot that these ligands were expressed and secreted on exosomes, nanometer-sized microvesicles of endosomal origin. Acting as a decoy, the NKG2D ligand-bearing exosomes downregulate the in vitro NKG2D receptor-mediated cytotoxicity and thus impair NK-cell function. Interestingly, thermal and oxidative stress enhanced the exosome secretion generating more soluble NKG2D ligands that aggravated the impairment of the cytotoxic response. Taken together, our results might partly explain the clinically observed NK-cell dysfunction in patients suffering from leukemia/lymphoma. The adverse effect of thermal and oxidative stress, enhancing the release of immunosuppressive exosomes, should be considered when cytostatic and hyperthermal anti-cancer therapies are designed.

Dominant IL-10 and TGF-beta mRNA expression in gammadeltaT cells of human early pregnancy decidua suggests immunoregulatory potential.

PROBLEM: To examine the cytokine gene expression in γδT‐cells from human early pregnancy decidua.

The Role of Placental Exosomes in Reproduction

Citation Mincheva‐Nilsson L, Baranov V. The Role of Placental Exosomes in Reproduction. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010

Microvesicle-associated aav vector as a novel gene delivery system

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have shown remarkable efficiency for gene delivery to cultured cells and in animal models of human disease. However, limitations to AAV vectored gene transfer exist after intravenous transfer, including off-target gene delivery (e.g., liver) and low transduction of target tissue. Here, we show that during production, a fraction of AAV vectors are associated with microvesicles/exosomes, termed vexosomes (vector-exosomes). AAV capsids associated with the surface and in the interior of microvesicles were visualized using electron microscopy. In cultured cells, vexosomes outperformed conventionally purified AAV vectors in transduction efficiency. We found that purified vexosomes were more resistant to a neutralizing anti-AAV antibody compared to conventionally purified AAV. Finally, we show that vexosomes bound to magnetic beads can be attracted to a magnetized area in cultured cells. Vexosomes represent a unique entity which offers a promising strategy to improve gene delivery.

REVIEW ARTICLE: The Role of Placental Exosomes in Reproduction

Citation Mincheva‐Nilsson L, Baranov V. The Role of Placental Exosomes in Reproduction. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010

Correlation between increased nitric oxide production and markers of endothelial activation in systemic sclerosis: Findings with the soluble adhesion molecules E‐selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between vascular function and the inflammatory response in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to investigate whether production of endothelial-derived nitric oxide (NO) is disturbed in this disease. METHODS We measured plasma nitrate, urinary excretion of both nitrate and cGMP, and soluble adhesion molecules of endothelial origin in patients with SSc and in age- and sex-matched controls and compared these levels between groups. Additionally, we performed correlation analysis to determine how these variables were related to one another. Plasma nitrate and 24-hour-urinary excretion of nitrate in patients and controls were measured after a 72-hour nitrate-free-diet, using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometric method. Soluble adhesion molecules intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), and E-selectin and cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of E-selectin was further investigated in skin biopsy specimens by immunoperoxidase staining, and the presence of inducible NO synthase by immunoblotting. RESULTS Plasma nitrate and 24-hour-urinary-excretion of cGMP were significantly elevated in patients compared with controls, while 24-hour-urinary-excretion of nitrate tended to be elevated in SSc patients. Levels of sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sE-selectin were significantly elevated in the patients. Levels of plasma nitrate in the patients correlated significantly with levels of sVCAM-1 (P = 0.020) and sE-selectin (P = 0.018) and approached a significant correlation with sICAM-1 (P = 0.055), suggesting that activated endothelial cells may produce plasma nitrate. CONCLUSION NO synthesis is elevated in SSc patients, and the activated endothelial cell is a likely site of its production.