Described herein is a method for detecting the presence of circulating extracellular vesicles in a subject. The method comprises contacting a biological sample from the subject with an antibody mimetic that specifically binds to a cell surface marker on the vesicles, wherein the antibody mimetic is coupled to a detectable label; and detecting presence of extracellular vesicles in the sample by detecting the presence of the detectable label coupled to the antibody mimetic bound to the vesicles.

The present invention provides a method and means useful for recovering an extracellular vesicle. More specifically, the present invention provides the following (I) and (II).

(I) A method for recovering extracellular vesicle, the method including: (1) mixing whole blood with a nonionic surfactant and a chelating agent to give a mixture solution containing the extracellular vesicle, the nonionic surfactant and the chelating agent; and (2) separating the extracellular vesicle from the mixture solution.

(II) A blood collection vessel containing a nonionic surfactant and a chelating agent.

The present disclosure provides methods for predicting and thereby treating cancer or increasing the efficacy of an anti-cancer medication, in part by measuring checkpoint proteins on extracellular vesicles released from non-cancer cells. These checkpoint proteins promote cancer progression and/or compensate for the loss of signal from the checkpoint proteins being inhibited by the checkpoint inhibitory therapy. Compositions and methods of treatment are also provided.

The present invention relates to a sorLA-based drug screening platform for use in screening compound libraries for an effect on endosomal activity.

The present invention discloses, in one embodiment, a method of using human induced pluripotent stem cells to generate three-dimensional human organ tissue for therapeutic drug toxicity and discovery⋅. In one embodiment, a high throughput microtiter plate is loaded with both wild type and Rett disease 3D spheroids and exposed to a drug library, and activity is measured and analyzed for disease rescue to wild type cell behavior.

As described herein, a hybrid voltage sensor genetically-encoded voltage indicator (GEVI) for mitochondria or endoplasmic reticulum includes a transmembrane domain, and a fluorescent protein, wherein a terminus of the transmembrane domain and a terminus of the fluorescent protein are covalently linked directly or by a linker comprising 1 to 20 amino acids, and wherein the transmembrane domain comprises SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3, SEQ ID NO: 4 or a peptide with greater than 85%, 90%, 95% or 98% identity to SEQ ID NO: 1, SEQ ID NO: 2, SEQ ID NO: 3 or SEQ ID NO: 4. Also described are expression vectors, expression cassettes, and organelle membranes, as well as methods of determining the voltage across an organelle using the GEVIs.

The present disclosure relates to an exosome comprising a photocleavable protein and a use thereof, and the exosome according to the present disclosure contains a fusion protein comprising a blue fluorescent protein (TagBFP), a photocleavable protein (mMaple3), and an exosome-specific marker protein (CD9), and it has been found that when light of 405 nm is irradiated to the exosome, the photocleavable protein, mMaple3 is cleaved and thereby the blue fluorescent protein in the exosome can be delivered into a target cell. In addition, it has been found that Cre protein in the exosome can be delivered into an animal organ, when light of 405 nm is irradiated to an exosome containing Cre fusion protein (Cre-mMaple3-CD9). Therefore, the exosome containing the photocleavable protein according to the present disclosure is expected to be useful in the protein treatment field by safely and efficiently delivering various therapeutic proteins into cells.

The invention, in some aspects relates to light-activated ion channel molecules and methods for their use to alter cell activity and function. Light-activated ion channel molecules of the invention can be administered to subjects, expressed in cells, and activated with light, to alter membrane potential in the cells, and can be used in methods for assaying compounds, treating diseases and conditions, compound screening and more.

The present disclosure relates to compositions, methods and kits for the isolation of extracellular vesicles. The compositions, methods and kits can comprise a high-density liquid reagent that facilitates the sequestration of extracellular vesicles bound to magnetic beads.

The present invention relates to microfluidic fluidic devices, methods and systems as microfluidic kidney on-chips, e.g. human Proximal Tubule-Chip.