Exercise-induced Changes in Exosomes

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The proposed study aims to shed light on the function/importance/relevance of exercise-induced changes in exosomes to connective tissues. Exosomes are known to increase robustly in response to exercise. We have previously shown that serum isolated from subjects after they lift heavy weights increases human engineered ligament collagen content and mechanics more than serum from before they lift weight. Further, we showed that exercise-induced changes in hormones could not explain the change in ligament structure or function. These data indicate that there is a significant gap in our understanding of muscle-connective tissue crosstalk. To address this gap, the current proposal seeks to: i) isolate and sequence exosomal RNA (long non-coding, miR, and mRNA) and ii) determine whether exosomes isolated from serum after exercise increase engineered ligament mechanics and collagen content.

Official Title
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Exercise-induced Changes in Exosomes

Conditions
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Exosomes, Connective Tissue, Exercise

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: Resistance Exercise


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Young healthy adults (18-35 y) Experience with exercise (>1y) Exclusion Criteria: Pregnancy Smoking Receiving any medication that may interfere with the study outcomes

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 35 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Exercise trial<br>Participants will perform a bout of exercise. In addition, a baseline and post-exercise blood sample will be drawn. | Procedure: Resistance Exercise<br>* Participants will perform a bout of lower body resistance exercise consisting of leg press, leg extension and leg curls.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Collagen content of ligament constructs | Ligament constructs will be treated for 7 days with experimental feed medium containing serum, or exosomes isolated from serum, obtained at baseline or post-exercise for determination of collagen content using a hydroxyproline assay. | 15 min post-exercise | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ultimate tensile stress and modulus of ligament constructs | ligament constructs will be treated for 7 days with experimental feed medium containing serum, or exosomes isolated from serum, obtained at baseline or post-exercise for determination of ultimate tensile stress and modulus. | 15 min post-exercise | 
| Exosomal RNA | Isolation and sequencing of exosomal RNA from serum obtained at baseline or post-exercise. | 15 min post-exercise |