An Approach of Brain Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Brain Pathologies

  • 12k

    Total downloads

  • 46k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

All types of cells have been shown to release extracellular vesicles, which are originated from different subcellular origins, mainly known from their independent sources, i.e., plasma membrane, late endosomes, lysosomes, or combination of endosome-lysosomes. Each type of extracellular vesicles may carry different protein content, which may act as signaling molecules, and in addition, genetic material, e.g., miRNA, RNA fragments, or circular RNA. Among the proteins, the tetraspanins such as CD63 and CD81 are primarily found in all types of vesicles. However, several types of pathological conditions have shown variation in the expression of tetraspanins compared to healthy individuals. Similarly, RNA expression levels or the presence of a specific type of miRNA corresponds to a particular pathology. All these findings suggested that EVs can be utilized as an innovative and powerful tool in diagnosing or prognosis of any disease.
Remarkable knowledge of biosynthesis of EVs has been discovered since the last decade, which is currently improving the nomenclature of EVs such as exosomes of the endosomal origin or plasma membrane-derived. Furthermore, it could help distinguish EVs from their parent cells. Such as EVs derived from the brain tissues - mainly neuronal or astrocytic origin, or brain vascular endothelial origin; such EVs can be identified and purified from the peripheral blood circulation. This discovery of brain-derived EVs from circulating peripheral blood is undoubtedly an excellent achievement for neuroscience to improve brain pathologies' most challenging early diagnosis.
The brain is protected in the bony skull, and at all times a continuous two-way access to the brain is circulating blood via the blood-brain barrier, which is selectively permeable. However, EVs released by brain tissues are detected in blood circulation or cerebrospinal fluid, which is the most plausible feature of EVs. Extensive work has been done and is still ongoing to study the biogenesis and function of neuronal exosomes and their role in pathological conditions. However, it is still challenging to separate neuronal exosomes from the heterogeneous population of EVs in circulating blood.

Several known brain pathologies that cause long-term disabilities followed by death include stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, dementia, sclerosis, schizophrenia, brain cancer, and many mental disorders. Unfortunately, the early diagnosis and post-treatment prognosis of brain pathologies are challenging because of poor accessibility to the brain. Thus, the characterization of neuronal-derived EVs has emerged as a better hope to investigate brain pathologies for the early diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. For example, several known neuronal markers in EVs predict that they may determine the early diagnosis of stroke.

The main goal of this research topic is to explore the biophysical characterization and separation techniques of brain-derived EVs from the plasma or serum samples. Also, to study their relationship with pathological brain conditions and clinical investigations to build a platform for early diagnosis and prognosis of brain pathologies.
This research topic highlights the impact of Brain-derived EVs in the diagnosis and prognosis of brain pathologies. Authors are encouraged to submit their original work contributing to the following sections:
1. Isolation and enrichment techniques of Brain-derived EVs (mainly Neuronal, astrocytic, brain endothelial) from serum or plasma samples.
2. Brain-derived EVs demonstrate an early diagnosis of brain pathologies, such as tumors, stroke, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Dementia, injuries, and any other brain pathologies.
3. Determine the relationship between brain-derived EVs in pathological conditions with clinical findings such as CT scans or MRI, and biochemical markers during treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery to establish disease prognosis

Keywords: Exosomes, extracellular vesicles, Neuronal exosomes, brain injury, early bio-markers, prognosis bio-markers, astrocytic markers, glial cell markers, brain endothelial markers

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 46kTopic views
  • 33kArticle views
  • 12kArticle downloads
View impact