Using VCF files To Study Whether Extracellular Vesicles Remove RNA Containing Premature Stop Codons

Benhart, Hayden A

The Ingenuity Project at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Teacher: Dr. Nicole Rosen

Mentor: Dr. Sarven Sabunciyan

Stanley Division of Neurovirology

The study of extracellular vesicles is a relatively new and unexplored field. They are small lipid bound particles that are secreted by cells to carry out different bodily functions. Two of the major functions of extracellular vesicles are transport of macromolecules, primarily nucleic acids and proteins, and the removal of misfolded proteins. We are curious about other functions that may not have been fully explored and if they have an impact on psychiatric disorders. We suspect that RNA containing premature stop codons is released by the cell in an effort to prevent the production of truncated proteins and that this RNA is then removed by extracellular vesicles. Using RNA sequenced from extracellular vesicles and stored in Variant Call Format (VCF) files, we can look for premature stop codons in the extracellular vesicles. The goal of our project is to determine whether or not extracellular vesicles contain more premature stop codons than the parent cells and evaluate whether or not the transport of RNA containing stop codons is in fact a novel function of extracellular vesicles. This would allow us to perform noninvasive blood tests, reducing risk to patients while also providing a method by which to study disease.