# The Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine

> **NIH NIH P20** · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $382,500

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Supplement Title: Determination of Extracellular Vesicle Characteristics in Preclinical AD
The overall objective of the “Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine” (KIPM) COBRE at the University of Kansas
Medical Center (KUMC) is to advance the customization of healthcare through promoting innovative scientific
discoveries. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRDs) are being diagnosed at epidemic rates,
with incidence to triple from 35 to 115 million cases worldwide. Most ADRDs are characterized by progressive
neurodegeneration, and Alzheimer's disease is currently the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
This project, entitled “Determination of extracellular vesicle characteristics in preclinical AD,” is a supplement to
the KIPM COBRE. There is evidence that aerobic exercise provides brain benefits in Alzheimer's Disease
patients, by improving cognitive performance and slowing structural decline in aging, but the mechanisms of this
benefit are unclear. A potential and understudied mechanism of benefit involves extracellular vesicles (EV's).
EV's are lipid bilayer particles that can be released from tissues, such as muscle, in response to exercise and
can travel to the brain. EV's can carry protein components, such as heat shock proteins, which are produced by
cells in response to stress and play key roles in proteostasis. HSP's actively modulate processes such as
aggregation, transport, folding of other proteins and may limit damage to the cell. This is likely particularly
important in diseases, such as AD, which are marked by pathological protein aggregation. However, no studies
have characterized the relationship between EV's and AD brain neuropathology, or the response of EV's to an
exercise intervention in individuals at risk for AD. This precision medicine study will leverage unique resources
available through the KIPM COBRE to characterize exosomes in existing blood samples from a clinical trial of
individuals with preclinical AD that has recently been completed. It will also allow us to investigate the
relationship between the EV response and cerebral amyloid burden, which has not been explored. We will also
leverage a rich dataset of available neuroimaging data beyond just amyloid PET, probing the relationships
between EV's, HSP's, and brain structure. Characterization of this important potential mechanism will provide
insight on the brain benefits of exercise and also provide information on relationships with neuropathology during
preclinical AD, a period of time before cognitive symptoms have appeared, when interventions are likely to have
the greatest impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10122687
- **Project number:** 3P20GM130423-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREW K. GODWIN
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $382,500
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2021-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10122687

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10122687, The Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine (3P20GM130423-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10122687. Licensed CC0.

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