Exosomes and Extracellular Vesicles: ncRNA Biomarkers, Therapeutic Delivery and Network Analysis
Decode EVs for Biomarker Discovery and Targeted Therapeutics.
About This Course
This three-day workshop explores extracellular-vesicle biology, exosomal ncRNA biomarkers, therapeutic delivery, and molecular-network analysis. Participants will examine EV isolation and characterisation methods, retrieve disease-associated molecules from specialised databases, predict miRNA targets, perform pathway and protein-interaction analysis, and construct regulatory networks. Through guided activities using Vesiclepedia, ExoCarta, miRDB, Enrichr, STRING, Cytoscape, and Google Colab, participants will develop a preliminary exosomal biomarker panel.
Aim
To provide participants with practical knowledge of extracellular-vesicle biology, ncRNA biomarker discovery, therapeutic delivery, and network-based analysis using specialised databases and bioinformatics tools.
Workshop Objectives
- Understand extracellular-vesicle biogenesis, cargo, isolation, characterisation, and biological functions.
- Explore disease-associated exosomal miRNAs, genes, proteins, and experimental information using EV databases.
- Analyse miRNA targets, biological pathways, and protein-interaction networks related to selected diseases.
- Apply bioinformatics tools to construct and interpret ncRNA–gene–pathway regulatory networks.
- Develop a preliminary exosomal biomarker panel or therapeutic network using integrated molecular data.
Workshop Structure
📅 Day 1: Extracellular-Vesicle Biology, Isolation and Database Exploration
- Introduction to extracellular vesicles and intercellular communication
- Differences between exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies
- Extracellular-vesicle biogenesis, secretion, cellular uptake, and biological functions
- EV cargo: miRNA, lncRNA, mRNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites
- Principles of EV isolation and purification
- Differential ultracentrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography, precipitation, and immunoaffinity capture
- EV characterisation using nanoparticle tracking analysis, electron microscopy, flow cytometry, and Western blotting
- Importance of standardised EV reporting and experimental guidelines
- Introduction to extracellular-vesicle databases and data resources
🛠️ Hands-on:
- Explore extracellular-vesicle cargo using Vesiclepedia and ExoCarta
- Search for exosomal miRNAs, proteins, and genes associated with a selected disease
- Review EV isolation and characterisation information using EV-TRACK
- Prepare a curated list of disease-associated extracellular-vesicle molecules
🧰 Tools Covered:
Vesiclepedia, ExoCarta, EV-TRACK, extracellular-vesicle datasets, and data-curation templates
📅 Day 2: Exosomal ncRNA Biomarkers and Disease-Network Analysis
- Biological roles of exosomal miRNAs and lncRNAs
- Exosomal ncRNA-mediated regulation of gene expression
- miRNA–mRNA and lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA regulatory relationships
- Identification of disease-associated exosomal biomarkers
- Principles of miRNA target prediction
- Construction of miRNA–gene and ncRNA-regulatory networks
- Gene Ontology and pathway-enrichment analysis
- Protein–protein interaction-network analysis
- Cancer, inflammation, wound-healing, and immune-regulation case studies
- Interpretation of hub genes, regulatory miRNAs, and disease-associated pathways
🛠️ Hands-on:
- Select candidate exosomal miRNAs from the Day 1 dataset
- Predict miRNA target genes using miRDB and TargetScan
- Perform functional and pathway-enrichment analysis using Enrichr
- Analyse protein–protein interactions using STRING
- Construct and visualise a miRNA–gene–pathway network in Cytoscape
🧰 Tools Covered:
miRNet, miRDB, TargetScan, Enrichr, STRING, Cytoscape, and exosomal ncRNA datasets
📅 Day 3: Exosome-Based Therapeutics, Liquid Biopsy and Biomarker-Panel Development
- Exosomes as natural therapeutic-delivery vehicles
- Loading of RNA, drugs, proteins, and genome-editing components into exosomes
- Native and engineered exosome-delivery systems
- Exosome surface modification and tissue-specific targeting
- Exosomal biomarkers for liquid-biopsy applications
- Candidate miRNA and lncRNA prioritisation
- Therapeutic-target and regulatory-network analysis
- Evaluation of biomarker specificity, biological relevance, and clinical potential
- Challenges in exosome manufacturing, standardisation, scalability, and clinical translation
- Development of multi-marker exosomal diagnostic panels
🛠️ Hands-on:
- Integrate exosomal ncRNA, target-gene, pathway, and interaction data
- Rank candidate miRNAs using biological and network-based criteria
- Identify hub genes and key regulatory pathways
- Develop a preliminary exosomal biomarker panel
- Prepare a therapeutic or diagnostic network for a selected disease
- Generate data summaries and visualisations in Google Colab
🧰 Tools Covered:
Google Colab, Python, pandas, miRNet, Enrichr, STRING, Cytoscape, and biomarker-ranking templates
Who Should Enrol?
- Graduate and postgraduate students in biotechnology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacy, and life sciences
- PhD scholars, research fellows, and academicians
- Faculty members and laboratory researchers
- Biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and healthcare industry professionals
- Researchers working in cancer biology, regenerative medicine, liquid biopsy, ncRNA therapeutics, or drug delivery
Important Dates
Registration Ends
October 5, 2026
IST 4: 30 PM
Workshop Dates
October 5, 2026 – October 7, 2026
IST 5:30 PM
Workshop Outcomes
- Differentiate exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies based on their origin and biological roles.
- Retrieve and curate disease-associated extracellular-vesicle molecules from specialised databases.
- Predict miRNA target genes and perform functional and pathway-enrichment analysis.
- Construct and visualise miRNA–gene and protein-interaction networks using STRING and Cytoscape.
- Prepare a preliminary exosomal ncRNA biomarker panel or therapeutic-network framework for a selected disease.
Fee Structure
Student Fee
₹2199 | $60
Ph.D. Scholar / Researcher Fee
₹3199 | $75
Academician / Faculty Fee
₹4199 | $95
Industry Professional Fee
₹5499 | $110
What You’ll Gain
- Live & recorded sessions
- e-Certificate upon completion
- Post-workshop query support
- Hands-on learning experience
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