DEPARTMENT OF IMMUNOLOGY, INSTITUTE OF NEUROIMMUNE PHARMACOLOGY

CENTER FOR PERSONALIZED NANOMEDICINE

Distinguished Seminar Series

Exosomes Produced from HIV Infected Cells Control Immune Regulation

Fatah Kashanchi, Ph.D.

Director of Research, NCBID, School of Systems Biology
Professor in the Laboratory of Molecular Virology
George Mason University
Date: Monday, February 15th, 2016
Venue: AHC-2 453
Time: 1 - 2 pm
Refreshments will be served.
Abstract:
Exosomes are small membrane bound extracellular vesicles that are secreted from the cells into the extracellular
environment. In recent years, it has been shown that exosomes can be taken up by recipient cells and can result in
phenotypic changes in these cells, which can be either beneficial or detrimental to the cell. These phenotypic changes
are associated with the donor cell conditions (infected or uninfected cells), the exosomal content including presence of
specific proteins, and non-coding RNAs, as well as the recipient cells external and internal environment. In the case
of many viral infections and cancers, exosomes have been implicated in cellular inflammation, antigen presentation,
and the transfer of nucleic acids (specifically RNA) and functional proteins between cells. Exosomes have also been
reported to participate in the delivery of functional miRNAs and proteins which result in modulation of recipient cell
gene expression. Often, this can contribute to disease pathogenesis, especially when exosomes originate from
infected cells. In recent years, Kashanchi lab has focused exclusively on exosomes secreted from virally infected cells
including HIV and HTLV-1. In multiple independent manuscripts, they have shown how to purify these exosomes from
large and small volumes using classical centrifugation methods followed by gradients and nanoparticles, respectively.
These exosomes typically range in size from 50-150 nm and are usually secreted using the host ESCART pathway
(similar to what most viruses use to exit a cell). In 2015, they also purified exosomes from Rift valley infected cells and
Ebola transfected cells focusing on GP, NP, and VP40. The functional comparison between these various exosomes
and their effects on pathogenesis and their contribution to disease progression will be discussed.
Biography:
Dr. Kashanchi trained under the supervision of Dr. C. Wood who worked with Dr. Susumu Tonegawa (Nobel Laureate
for Medicine, 1987) at MIT. Dr. Kashanchi further trained in Dr. John Bradys lab at NIH/NCI from 1991-1998 and
published more than 30 papers during his postdoc and senior investigator tenure. His research interests include both
Genomics and Proteomics of HIV-1 and HTLV-1 infected cells. Research in Kashanchis lab has been funded by
various internal and external sources including Selective Excellence, Keck, Snyder, Sinsheimer, Cyclacel, and more
than 9 NIH grants, where he is the Principal Investigator. Since his departure from NIH in 1998, Dr. Kashanchi has
obtained $14.5 M of independent funding. He has 179 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals (h index = 45),

12 book chapters, is an NIH study section member (141 panels since 2000), as well as reviewer for 14 different
journals.