
Mapping Cellular Communication Signals
Different types of cells in the heart release multiple non-coding RNAs inside extracellular vesicles
University of Colorado School of Medicine
We are a laboratory in the University of Colorado Department of Medicine Division of Cardiology.
Our laboratory uses genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics approaches to understand basic cellular processes in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models. Human iPSCs can be directed to differentiate into different types of cells in the body including heart, muscle, and vascular cells, therefore providing a powerful in vitro model to probe cell biology under different developmental and stress response scenarios. Currently we are working on two projects in the areas of cellular communication and protein homeostasis:
How do cells in the body communicate through secreted RNAs and proteins?
In recent work, we have mapped secreted non-coding RNAs from multiple cell types derived from human iPSCs (cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblasts) that may function in intercellular communications and that may be harnessed as a quantitative metric to assess the differentiation status and purity of hPSC-derived cardiac cells. Future work will develop this approach to model longitudinal changes in cellular communication networks under stress and disease using computational, single-cell, and proteomics strategies.What is the role of protein synthesis and homeostasis during cell fate transitions?
In the past few years we have developed analytical and computational methods to measure the individual half-life of thousands of protein species in complex systems. We discovered widespread changes in protein synthesis and degradation rates in animal models that to discover new disease signatures. Going forward, we are planning to apply our tools to identify the protein quality control factors that are important for cellular differentiation in iPSC systems as well as during transitions from stress to cellular senescence.Edward is an Assistant Professor at University of Colorado School of Medicine Department of Medicine/Cardiology, and a faculty member of the Integrated Physiology graduate program. He received his PhD in Physiology at UCLA followed by Postdoctoral training at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.
Different types of cells in the heart release multiple non-coding RNAs inside extracellular vesicles
We are looking for post-doctoral, post-baccalaureate, and undergraduate researchers to join our team!
Protocol to extract biomolecules from cryopreserved hiPSC vials published in Current Protocol.