Scouting Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease via Network Analysis of Exosome Proteomics Data

Background: Exosomes are a group of extracellular vesicles that are released by almost all mammalian cell types and engage in intracellular communication. Studies conducted in recent years have shown that exosomes are involved in a variety of diseases, where they may act as “vehicles” for the transmission of biomolecules and biomolecular information. Amyloidoses constitute a critical subgroup of these diseases, caused by extracellular deposition or intracellular inclusions of insoluble protein fibrils in cells and tissues. However, how exosomes are involved in these diseases remains largely unexplored. Methods: To detect possible links between amyloid proteins and exosomes, protein data from amyloidosis-isolated exosomes were collected and visualized using biological networks. Results: This biomedical informatics approach for the analysis of interaction networks, in combination with the existing literature, highlighted the involvement of exosomes in amyloidosis while strengthening existing hypotheses regarding their mechanism of action. Conclusion: This work is focused on exosomes from patients with Alzheimer’s disease and identifies important amyloidogenic proteins found in exosomes. These proteins can be used for future research in the field of exosome-based biomarkers of amyloidosis and potential prognostic or preventive approaches.