Discipline: Biological Sciences
Subcategory: Microbiology/Immunology/Virology
Aliyah Curry - Alabama State University
Co-Author(s): Jayde Price Alabama State University, Montgomery AL; Dr.Qiana Matthews Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL
Exosomes are extracellular vesicles that are active in cell to cell communication, transferring macromolecules between cells, biological markers used to detect disease states. Exosomes are found in extracellular space and made up mostly of lipids and proteins. Exosomes can be affected by external factors such as alcohol and nicotine. Specifically, we will be focusing on the effect of alcohol on exosome biogenesis. Alcohol has factors that can be beneficial to the body in moderation. However, alcohol in high concentrations can negatively alter extracellular vesicles production and release. Our goal is to study the impact of alcohol concentrations on liver exosome biology. Liver cells will be subjected to various concentrations of alcohol or vehicle (control). Exosomes were purified from the cultured media after alcohol dosing or vehicle control using ultracentrifugation or purification kits. The protein quantity and quality was determined using standard protein quantitation methods. Western blot, Enzyme-Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and NanoSight technology was used to measure, exosome count, and characterize exosomes. We observed that when the liver cells were treated with alcohol, exosome biogenesis was impacted, thus the structure of the exosomes was effected. Overall, these results suggest alcohol has a negative affect on cells leading to the downstream impact on exosomes. This supports the claim that alcohol can have detrimental effects on the human body. Our future research includes investigating the effects of alcohol consumption on exosome production in vivo.
Not SubmittedFunder Acknowledgement(s): US Dept. of Education, The Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) (P120A150008) awarded to Dr. Komal Vig (PD) NSFCREST (HRD-1241701) awarded to Dr. Shree S. Singh (PI) Gorgas Memorial Research Foundation research grant awarded to Dr. Qiana L. Matthews (PI). Faculty Advisor
Faculty Advisor: Qiana Matthews, qmatthews@alasu.edu
Role: I preformed majority of this research with the guidance and mentorship of Dr.Q Matthews. I purified the media from the cell culture using ultracentrifugation and purification kits. I preformed a protein quanitation assay to determine the quantity of the purified exosomes. I preformed a Western blot and an Enzyme-Linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to characterize exosomes.