A blood-based nanotechnology to decipher the extracellular vesicle code in motor neuron disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease characterised by the irreversible degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. The onset of disease typically occurs in mid-life and symptoms include progressive muscle atrophy and weakness. People living with ALS have a median prognosis of 3 to 5 years, however there is considerable variability in onset, progression, and survival. In the absence of a cure, many treatments focus on palliation of symptoms. The lack of progress in therapeutics development for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is due in part to a lack of biomarkers that can comprehensively inform: i) diagnosis ii) disease outcome iii) predisposition for ALS iv) how drugs might impact ALS and v) disease progression. This project aims to address these gaps by developing a nanotechnology for investigating the role of a new class of biomarkers – extracellular vesicles or EVs in blood – and the potential for EVs in ALS diagnosis and treatment monitoring. As EVs carry important molecular information between cells, their study could reveal critical information for early detection and monitoring of ALS progression.