Excellence in Research: InnovAtive Methods and Advanced Science at Alabama State University (IAM-ASU)

外来体是从供体细胞释放并被受体细胞内化的小囊泡。 这些囊泡携带蛋白质、DNA和RNA。据认为，它们对细胞间通讯很重要，并且可能对疾病的发展很重要。 有些病毒会利用外来体来传播感染。 在其他情况下，来自病毒感染细胞的外泌体可以引发抗病毒反应，以帮助对抗病毒感染。腺病毒是一种引起普通感冒的病毒。 该提案的目的是通过比较体外未感染和感染细胞中的外泌体形成来检查腺病毒感染如何改变外泌体的形成和组成。此外，还将开展工作以询问改变的外泌体形成与腺病毒感染的严重程度之间是否存在联系。这些研究将为宿主细胞和病毒之间的相互作用提供新的信息，并将导致对外泌体生物发生和病毒感染的更好理解。这促进了NSF的使命，因为它促进了科学的进步。该项目还将支持本科生和研究生的教育。 因此，它实现了NSF支持教育和科学多样性的使命。外泌体信号通路很可能是病毒的额外进入途径，也是病毒促进感染和致病的额外机制。 这些拟议的研究将评估普通感冒病毒，腺病毒，如何影响宿主生物体通过外来体生物发生和组成在细胞培养条件下和动物。该提案将重点阐明腺病毒和外来体之间的相互作用。有超过56种腺病毒血清型感染各种脊椎动物和无脊椎动物物种，使腺病毒成为该项目的良好病毒模型。该提案将测试外泌体生物发生、组成和运输被外部因素/刺激（例如病毒感染）改变的假设，从而导致改变的外泌体生物发生、组成、运输和细胞摄取。 实现该目标的目的是：1）评价病毒感染对外泌体生物发生的体外影响，2）评价病毒感染对外泌体组成的体外影响，3）评价外泌体对外泌体体外腺病毒感染的影响，4）评价病毒感染对外泌体生物发生的体内影响。 这项建议具有很高的智力价值;拟议的研究可以显着推进病毒学和外泌体生物学领域的科学知识。这项研究的更广泛影响包括：1）直接定位首席研究员在亚拉巴马州立大学开发和维持一个新的研究项目，2）在STEM领域培训代表性不足的本科生和研究生。该项目由综合有机系统（IOS）共生和自卫（SDS）计划，刺激竞争力研究的既定计划（EPSCoR），历史上的黑人学院和大学本科计划（HBCU-UP）和历史上的黑人学院和大学卓越研究（HBCU-EiR）计划。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Exosomes are small vesicles that are released from donor cells and internalized by a recipient cell. These vesicles carry proteins, DNA and RNA. It is thought that they are important for cell-to-cell communication, and may be important for development of disease. Some viruses will use exosomes to spread infections. In other cases, exosomes from virus-infected cells can trigger anti-viral responses to help combat virus infections. Adenovirus is a virus that causes the common cold. The goal of this proposal is to examine how adenovirus infection alters the formation and composition of exosomes by comparing exosome formation in uninfected and infected cells in vitro. In addition, work will be performed to ask if there is a connection between altered exosome formation and severity of adenovirus infection. These studies will provide new information on the interaction between the host cell and viruses, and will lead to a greater understanding of exosome biogenesis and virus infections. This promotes the NSF mission because it promotes the progress of science. This project will also support the education of undergraduate and graduate students. Therefore, it fulfills the mission of the NSF to support education and diversity in science.Exosome signaling pathways are likely to be an additional entry pathway for viruses as well as an additional mechanism by which viruses promote infection and pathogenesis. These proposed studies will evaluate how the common cold virus, adenovirus, affects the host organism via exosome biogenesis and composition in cell culture conditions and in animals. This proposal will focus on clarifying interactions between adenoviruses and exosomes. There are over 56 adenovirus serotypes infecting a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species, making adenovirus a good virus model for this project. This proposal will test the hypothesis that exosome biogenesis, composition, and trafficking are altered by external factors/stimuli such as viral infections, thus leading to altered exosome biogenesis, composition, trafficking, and cellular uptake. The objectives to achieve the goal are: 1) to evaluate the in vitro impact of virus infection on exosome biogenesis, 2) to evaluate the in vitro impact of virus infection on exosome composition, 3) to evaluate the impact of exosomes on in vitro adenovirus infection, 4) to evaluate the in vivo impact of virus infection on exosome biogenesis. This proposal has high intellectual merit; the proposed research could significantly advance scientific knowledge in the field of virology and exosome biology. Broader impacts of this study include: 1) directly positioning the principal investigator to develop and sustain a new research program at Alabama State University and 2) training of under-represented undergraduate and graduate students in STEM fields.This project is jointly funded by the Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Symbiosis and Self-Defense (SDS) program, the Established Program to Stimulate Competititve Research (EPSCoR),the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR) programs.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.