as part of DFG sponsored project beginning as soon as possible.
The Title of the project is: The role of circulating small extracellular vesicles in chronic psychosocial stress/PTSD-related inflammation.
Chronic psychosocial stress/trauma is a major burden of modern life and poses a significant risk factor for many somatic and affective disorders. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms behind the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are not fully understood so far, an increasing number of preclinical and clinical studies indicate that stress-induced inflammation is involved in disease development. Therefore, all factors facilitating an individual’s immune activity are likely to increase their stress/ trauma vulnerability.
A rather novel factor implicated in inflammatory modulation are small extracellular vesicles (sEVs, exosomes), which have recently been identified to have a vital function in propagating inflammation after severe physical trauma. Specifically, the latter is associated with the release of an increased amount of sEVs with altered cargo profile from endothelial cells, which locally and systemically propagate inflammation by transferring pro-inflammatory mRNAs and barrier-destabilizing miRNAs to other endothelial cells. In contrast to the role of sEVs in physical trauma, the sEV functions in the pathogenesis of psychosocial stress-related disorders, like PTSD are still elusive.
The aim of this project is therefore to explore the role of sEVs in the pathophysiology of chronic psychosocial stress/PTSD-related inflammation.