IJMS Webinar | Extracellular Vesicles: Their Secretion, Uptake, and Subsequent Cellular Responses in Tumor Cells
the chair
Extracellular vesicles arise either from inward budding within the cytoplasm to form exosomes or from outward budding of the plasma membrane to generate larger vesicles, sometimes called oncosomes. They function as key communication carriers, and the processes governing their formation, release, and uptake are under intense global study. Exosomes, in particular, transfer mRNA, miRNA, lncRNAs, DNA, and proteins between cells. After secretion, these vesicles are taken up by the originating cell or neighboring cells, triggering responses such as adhesion, spreading, motility, and division. This webinar will highlight the mechanisms that drive vesicle secretion and uptake and the cellular behaviors they influence.
Date: 26 March 2026
Time: 3:00 pm CDT
Webinar ID: 815 3668 2156
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet the Event Chair
Meet Our Speakers
Dr. Josiah Ochieng
Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, USA;
Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Biomedical Science at Meharry Medical College. His laboratory studies the molecular determinants of cancer metastasis, with an emphasis on extracellular vesicles.
Dr. Amos Sakwe
Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, USA;
Amos M. Sakwe holds a “Doctorat” in Molecular Parasitology from the University of Yaoundé, Cameroon, and a Ph.D. in Medical Biochemistry from Uppsala University, Sweden. He undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in Medical Genetics at the University of Toronto, Canada, and then earned a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation at Meharry Medical College. He is currently a professor of biochemistry and cancer biology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Graduate Studies at Meharry Medical College. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of triple-negative breast cancer progression, metastasis, and chemo-resistance.
Dr. Alissa Weaver
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA;
Dr. Alissa Weaver is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Cell Biology. She also directs the Vanderbilt Center for Extracellular Vesicle Research. The overall goal of her research is to understand the function and biogenesis of extracellular vesicles in cancer.
Sponsors and Partners
Organizer
In this section, you will find the recordings of this webinar to watch, re-watch and share with your colleagues!
The webinar explored the drivers of extracellular vesicle uptake, secretion, and their role in filopodia formation. Dr. Josiah Ochieng revealed that fetuin A enhances vesicle uptake in tumor cells. Dr. Amos Sakwe highlighted annexins as regulators of both vesicle release and uptake. Dr. Alissa Weaver demonstrated that small vesicles promote filopodia formation in tumor and neuronal cells.