Translational

ISO: $5,788.00 per batch
ESO: $9,550.00 per batch
*Up to 40 samples per batch

Purification and analysis of BDEs. The Translational hub has an evolving list of measurable analytes that can be quantified from BDEs. See below for the full list. The standard luminex panel for BDE analysis includes up to 12-analytes (hub directors will provide a recommended panel based on the specifics of the project).

• Use case: BDEs from cord blood plasma of babies born to overweight obese mothers exhibit evidence of neuronal functional iron deficiency and neuroinflammation

ISO:$3,667.00 per batch
ESO: $6,051.00 per batch 
*Up to 40 samples per batch

Analysis of peripheral blood markers. Parallel assays of BDE analytes in plasma (or serum) for comparative analysis between the peripheral physiological status and the central nervous system response.

• Use case: Cord blood plasma of babies born to overweight obese mothers show higher levels of CRP and normal iron status

ISO: $2,023.00 per batch
ESO: $3,337.00 per batch 
*Up to 40 samples per batch

Purification of BDEs only without quantification of analytes. This is to provide investigators BDEs for their own research pursuit (i.e., proteomic analysis, etc.)

• Use case: Analysis of BDE proteomes from patients with psychosis using O-link technology

ISO: $53.52 per hour 
ESO: $88.31 per hour

BDEs can be analyzed for markers (e.g., Hepcidin, NF-L) not available for multiplex assays using ELISA or dot array (for higher sensitivity). 

*Please note: This rate covers additional labor hours associated with running the additional analyte(s) only, it is not inclusive of the costs for the additional analyte kit(s). We will provide a market price quote for the specific analyte(s) kit(s). 

*Please note: Specimen pick up may be provided by the hub billed at the market rate for rideshare services to the project.

Exosomes are a small (40-120 nm in size) class of extracellular vesicles. They are secreted by virtually all cell types and carry  lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids as means for cell-cell communications. Brain-originated exosomes cross the blood brain barriers and have been explored as potential carriers of biomarkers that directly index the physiological state of the brain cells that release them. The Translational Hub has developed a protocol to isolate brain derived exosomes (BDEs) and quantify their cargos (e.g., cytokines, nerve growth factors, iron markers) from blood samples as a non- or less invasive approach to identify brain biomarkers that index risk factors for atypical neurodevelopment including neuroinflammation, brain iron deficiency, neuroplasticity, neurotoxic stress, and brain growth.  This novel approach provides a unique opportunity to investigate key brain biomarkers that are not accessible with neuroimaging and without using invasive methods such as spinal tap. Ongoing efforts are being made to isolate BDEs from other types of body fluids (e.g., saliva, urine).

Inflammation: cytokines and chemokines

• Eotaxin/CCL11
• Fractalkine/CX3CL1
• CRP
• IL-27
• MCP-1/CCL2
• MIP-1A
• MIP-1B
• RANTES/CCL5
• IFNa2
• IL-6
• IL-8
• GROa/CXCL1
• TNFa
• IL-18
• IL-10
• SDF-1a/CXCL12

Iron markers

• Ferritin
• Transferrin receptor
• Hepcidin

Neural markers/growth factors

• BDNF
• CNTF
• EGF
• GDNF
• NF-L
• S100A/B
• NMDAR2A/B
• VEGF-a
• NGF-b
• IGFBP-2
• IGFBP-6
• Tau

Hormones

• ACTH (Stress hormone)
• AgRP (Feeding hormone)
• GH (Growth hormone)
• SF-1

Cell surface proteins/neural cell function

• CNTN1
• CNTN2
• PARK7

In progress

• microRNA profiles
• mRNA (associated with ASD, NDDs)
• Iron markers (IRP2, Transferrin, Feroportin, Lipofusin, Hesfasitin)
• Neuroplasticity markers (MBP, neuromelanin, FEV)
• Metabolites (full panel)
• Lipidomes

Michelle Baack, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stanford Health Group and Pamela King, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Identify quantifiable cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors carried by brain-derived exosomes isolated from blood samples as potential surrogate biomarkers for brain inflammatory status to uncover the link between systemic and brain inflammation in high-risk samples.

Emily Jacobs, UC Santa Barbara

Blood loss during menstruation stresses the body's iron status. This project examines how markers of brain iron status from brain-derived exosomes fluctuate across the menstrual cycle using daily blood samples from the "28andMe" dataset. 28andMe is a dense-sampling, multimodal brain imaging study probing the extent to which endogenous fluctuations in sex hormones across a complete reproductive cycle (28 days) alter functional connectivity of brain networks at rest.