LEVERAGING PLASMA-DERIVED EXOSOMES FOR BIOMARKER DISCOVERY IN SICKLE CELL DISEASE: PREPARATION FOR A LARGE PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Diverse clinical variability among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients opposes crises prediction, health monitor- ing and streamlined management. Thus, an unmet need for objective biomarkers prevails. Exosomes are extra-cellular nano-vesicles (50-150nm), enriched in bioactive lipids, proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs, released by cells. They transport molecular cargo to nearby/distant cells to affect-regulate biological processes. Recent studies by Khalyfa et al. assessed the plasma exosome content, their sources and transcriptomics signature as predictive marker in SCD children with acute chest syndrome. However, the small sample sizes (32 and 33 individuals, respectively) may not capture the clinical variability

LEVERAGING PLASMA-DERIVED EXOSOMES FOR BIOMARKER DISCOVERY IN SICKLE CELL DISEASE: PREPARATION FOR A LARGE PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Diverse clinical variability among sickle cell disease (SCD) patients opposes crises prediction, health monitor- ing and streamlined management. Thus, an unmet need for objective biomarkers prevails. Exosomes are extra-cellular nano-vesicles (50-150nm), enriched in bioactive lipids, proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs, released by cells. They transport molecular cargo to nearby/distant cells to affect-regulate biological processes. Recent studies by Khalyfa et al. assessed the plasma exosome content, their sources and transcriptomics signature as predictive marker in SCD children with acute chest syndrome. However, the small sample sizes (32 and 33 individuals, respectively) may not capture the clinical variability