Cell News 3
&
4/2016
11
Session 4: Julia Gross
“Extracellular vesicles –
The secret side of cell-cell communication“
Highly coordinated communication is required to maintain a
multicellular organism. Signaling molecules are bits of infor-
mation transmitted between different cells in a tissue. Histo-
rically, these have been divided into several classes according
to their mode of action, such as chemokines, growth factors or
morphogens. It becomes more and more evident that a mul-
titude of signaling molecules is passaged from cell to cell on
extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are small membrane nanopar-
ticles derived from endosomal compartments and the plasma
membrane. The transmitted message can contain - similar to
a virus - a complex program consisting of proteins, DNA or
RNA that can induce long-term changes in receiving cells. EVs
facilitate the signaling process in providing message stability,
short- or long-range and target specificity. Their signaling
principles are investigated in a wide variety of biological pro-
cesses. Publications with the key words Extracellular vesicles,
microvesicles or exosomes have been rising in recent years and
their medical relevance as disease indicators in liquid biopsies
is recognized on a broad level. With this symposium the DGZ
would like to highlight recent advances in understanding basic
cellular mechanisms of EV biogenesis and EV communication
in tissue crosstalk under normal and pathological conditions.
As many detailed mechanisms regarding the release of EVs are
still to unravel, we hope to increase the visibility of this fasci-
nating topic within the community of the DGZ.
Key note speaker:
Prof. Pascale Zimmermann,
Directeur de Recherche Inserm, Centre de Recherche en Cancé-
rologie de Marseille, France
CV Julia Christina Gross
1999 - 2005 Studies of Biology in Frankfurt and Malaga/Spain
2003 - 2004 Visiting student with William I. Weis, Institute of
Structural Biology, Stanford University/USA
2005 - 2009 Ph.D. in Biology with Anna Starzinski-Powitz,
Molecular Cell Biology and Human Genetics,
Goethe University Frankfurt
2010 - 2015 Postdoc with Michael Boutros, Deutsches Krebs-
forschungszentrum & University Heidelberg
Since 07/2015 Junior Group leader Hematology and Medical
Oncology & Developmental Biochemistry
University Medicine Göttingen
DGZ SPRING MEMBER MEETING 2017
