Mechanisms of RNA Sorting into Exosomes

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Traditionally, scientists believed that materials containing the genetic code of our identity, our genes, were not shared between cells. This was believed to be a requirement for cells, organs and organisms to maintain their identity, for example, so your heart didn't become a stomach. Therefore, many people were astonished when around 2008 it was discovered that not only did cells release genetic materials, called RNA, into bodily fluids, but these genetic materials could then be delivered in a fully functional state into other cells, changing the cell's identity in the process. It is very difficult to understand how and why cells would exchange genetic materials using our current conceptions of biology and medicine. It is possible that this mechanism of exchange between cells allows them to communicate in precise ways at great distance (like the worldwide internet in animals) to help each other adapt to a new environment or defend themselves from infection. Other evidence suggests that genetic materials are released from cells to eliminate them when they are no longer needed, come from a virus trying to invade the cell, or are mutated and could cause cancer. Evidence suggests that the released genetic materials might then be degraded by cells throughout our body, called phagocytes (or eating cells) that are well-adapted to eliminate many kinds of toxins and waste that enter the body. In this project, we will perform experiments to understand exactly which genetic materials are released from cells and how they are selected, among all others, for release. This will allow us to reach our long-term goal of understanding, among the possibilities of intercellular communication or defensive degradation, why cells release genetic materials.