LINK BETWEEN LEVELS OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES OR EVS IN THE BLOOD AND TISSUE DAMAGE CAUSED BY DISEASES Cellular couriers: Body’s ‘delivery trucks’ could lead to new cancer blood test
With
Dr Georgia Atkin-Smith, Senior Postdoctoral researcher and NHMRC Investigator Grant Research Fellow, WEHI, Melbourne, Australia
Associate Professor Edwin Hawkins, Laboratory Head, WEHI, Melbourne, Australia
CASE STUDY
Filmed in Melbourne | March 2025
A landmark study led by WEHI and La Trobe University has found a potential new diagnostic marker that could be used to better detect the level of tissue damage in our bodies.
This study revealed, for the first time, a link between levels of EVs in the blood and tissue damage caused by diseases such as leukaemia.
Researchers hope to leverage the critical new insight to develop a blood test to monitor cancer patients with tissue damage, which could, in future, enhance treatment strategies for blood cancers and other diseases.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are like small delivery trucks in the human body that are dispatched by our cells to distribute important materials like proteins, fats and genetic information to other cells.
This delivery system helps cells communicate with each other, especially when they are under stress or dying.
Research into how EVs form and their link to disease progression is challenging because of their small size, with most studies restricted to a ‘cells-in-a-dish’ approach.
In an unprecedented study, researchers were able to overcome this significant barrier by imaging live EVs inside the bone marrow of mice.
The study involved a significant collaboration with Professor Ivan Poon, Director of the La Trobe Research Centre for Extracellular Vesicles (RCEV) – the largest group of EV researchers in the Southern Hemisphere.
The WEHI research team is now assessing whether EVs can be used as a biomarker in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. They hope to develop new tools and techniques that would allow clinicians to determine the impact of disease on healthy tissue, and assess the disease progression by analysing patient samples.
The study, published in Nature Communications Oct 2024, also involved collaborations with the University of Melbourne, The Florey, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Monash University.
The research was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council, CASS Foundation, Jack Brockhoff Foundation, L’Oreal UNESCO For Women in Science, Victorian Cancer Agency, a Sir Clive McPherson Family Fellowship and a Rae Foundation grant.
Source: WEHI News
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Leveraging a systems-based and collaborative approach, Dr Littlewood over the past 25 years has driven research and data outcomes in the area of health and wellbeing. Dr Littlewood leads a dedicated team focused on making healthy happen for all Queenslanders, with a particular focus on improving health outcomes for the next generation.
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As a biostatistician working in research and clinical settings, Kate Francis plays a vital role in ensuring all projects adhere to best practice guidelines and are transparently reported. She has served as the lead statistician for the analysis of clinical trials across a broad range of subject areas, including neonatal resuscitation, BCG for allergy and infection, convulsive status epilepticus and her work has been published in the top journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and The Lancet. Most recently she was awarded the 2025 Excellence in Trial Statistics Award for her work on the PLUSS trial.
