Oral Presentation Australasian Extracellular Vesicles Conference 2018

Extracellular Vesicles in Respiratory Disease (#6)

Phil Hansbro 1
  1. University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia

Respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are amongst the most important diseases globally and in Australia today. The pathogenesis of severe asthma, COPD and lung cancer are poorly understood and these diseases lack broadly effective therapies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) such as exosomes and microvesicles are produced by many cells and impact on disease processes. They carry functional cargo (e.g. messenger RNA, microRNAs) that affect cells that they communicate with. EVs carrying such cargo have been implicated in the pathogenesis of respiratory disease. We are assessing the roles of EVs in respiratory diseases and the potential for the modulation of them and their cargo as potential new treatments.