To investigate the role of WDR4 in sorting miRNAs into exosomes

Exosomes play pleiotropic tumor-promoting functions and are secreted by fusion of multivesicular bodies (MVBs) with the plasma membrane. We identified that WDR4-derived exosomes preferentially sorted pro-metastatic proteins to promote cancer metastasis and tumor progression. As miRNAs were also encapsulated by exosomes to perform certain tumor promoting effects, we wondered if WDR4 can also alter the sorting of miRNAs in exosomes. Overall design: Exosomes were isolated from H1299 cells stably expressing control or WDR4 shRNA. miRNAs were extracted from exosomes and sent for small RNA sequencing. Differential expression analysis of high throughput miRNA-seq data was obtained from 3 independent biological repeats.