Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers and Tools for Personalised Medicine (EXO-MED)

Research Activity

The sub-area “Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers and Tools for Personalized Medicine”, of the CARE-MED lab, studies the plasma secretome of patients with cardiovascular and gastrointestinal pathologies, to identify the molecules responsible for tissue damage. An important component of the secretome are extracellular vesicles (EVs), circular structures released by all cells that mediate cross-talk between different components of a tissue, both under physiological and pathological conditions. The study of their composition and function in the propagation of tissue damage, coupled with their use as exogenous vectors for the ‘delivery’ of healing molecules, are two important research topics of the lab. In this context, the laboratory is working on the development of two dynamic three-dimensional bioprinted microfluidic models able to in-vitro mimic the complex structure of tissues and to explore the use of different substrates to more closely represent the morphology of the organs to study its functionality in acute and chronic patient-specific diseases. These will represent a novelty among all emerging technologies, since they will combine strategies based on regenerative medicine techniques to achieve highly specialized personalized medicine.

Projects

Role of EVs in diagnosis, in patients with organ failure, and their function as biomarkers of treatment outcome.
Development of an ex-vivo three-dimensional (3D) cardiac and gut tissue models for the “delivery” of therapeutic molecules as a potential treatment of chronic damage using and engineered EVs.
Generation in-vitro models of “Donation after Circulatory Death”(DCD), for the recovery of organs suitable for transplantation.
Evaluation of cutting-edge drugs useful for preserving the transplantable organ’s functionality during transport to the recipient site after harvesting.
Study the complex interplay between Environmental Pollution and Cardiovascular and Gastrointestinal Diseases to develop new treatments to make organs more resistant to PFAS contamination.