# Controlling Exosome Noncoding RNA Cargo for Enhanced Wound Healing

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK · 2021 · $401,451

## Abstract

Project Summary
Exosomes have emerged as potential therapeutic vectors for repair of non-healing wounds, which continue to
be a significant source of morbidity and represent a substantial financial burden to patients and health care
systems in general. However, the therapeutic potency – and thus the translational potential – of exosomes for
wound repair is limited, as exosomes contain low amounts of nucleic acid cargo, such as microRNAs (miRNAs),
which are critical to defining exosome bioactivity. Towards overcoming this limitation, we have developed a
novel ethanol conditioning approach for endothelial cell-derived exosomes. This method reduces anti-
angiogenic miRNA cargo and increases pro-angiogenic long non-coding RNA cargo in these exosomes, leading
to an overall increase in angiogenic bioactivity. Angiogenic dysfunction is a hallmark of non-healing wounds,
thus these enhanced exosome formulations have therapeutic potential in wound repair. Our team of
bioengineers and clinicians will test approaches to further exert control over endothelial exosome non-coding
RNA cargo and bioactivity via environmental conditioning approaches (Aim 1) and exogenous loading
techniques (Aim 2). We will further test the therapeutic efficacy of enhanced exosomes in excisional, diabetic,
and burn injury wound repair models (Aim 3) to identify the most promising avenue for further translational
investigations. Overall, these studies will promote the development of a new class of therapeutics for
non-healing wounds that could benefit millions of patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10146460
- **Project number:** 5R01HL141611-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Michael Jay
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $401,451
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10146460

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10146460, Controlling Exosome Noncoding RNA Cargo for Enhanced Wound Healing (5R01HL141611-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10146460. Licensed CC0.

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