Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan used a new device to identify a key membrane protein in urine that indicates whether a patient has a brain tumor. It avoids the need for invasive testing and increases the likelihood that tumors will be detected early enough for surgery.
This study may also have potential implications for the detection of other types of cancer. This research ACS Nano.
Early detection of many types of cancer has contributed to recent increases in cancer survival, but survival rates for brain tumors have changed little in more than 20 years. In part, this is due to late discovery. Doctors often discover brain tumors only after the onset of neurological symptoms, such as loss of movement or speech, by which time the tumor has reached considerable size. let’s start doing …. It should help save lives.
One sign that a person may have a brain tumor is the presence of tumor-associated extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the urine. EVs are nano-sized vesicles that are involved in a variety of functions, including intercellular communication. Those found in brain tumor patients have specific types of RNA and membrane proteins that can be used to detect the presence and progression of cancer.
Although they are excreted away from the brain, many EVs derived from cancer cells exist stably and are excreted in the urine without being decomposed. Urinalysis has many advantages, explains Takao Yasui, an associate professor at Nagoya University’s Graduate School of Engineering. “Liquid biopsies can be performed using many body fluids, whereas blood tests are invasive,” he said. “Urine contains valuable biomolecules that can be traced back to identify disease.” Because of its high content, urinalysis is an effective, simple, non-invasive method.”
A research group led by Professor Yasui and Professor Yoshinobu Baba of the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, jointly with the Institute of Innovation for Future Society of Nagoya University and the University of Tokyo, has developed a new analysis platform for brain tumor EVs using nanowires at the bottom. of the well plate. Using this device, they identified two specific types of her EV membrane proteins, known as CD31/CD63, from a brain tumor patient’s urine sample. By looking for these telltale proteins, doctors may be able to identify patients with tumors before symptoms appear.
“Currently, EV isolation and detection methods require two or more instruments and one assay to isolate and detect EVs,” said Yasui. “The all-in-one nanowire assay can separate and detect EVs in one simple step. The detection of membrane proteins or miRNAs can be selectively modified to detect other types of cancer.Using this platform, we can determine the expression levels of specific membrane proteins in urinary EVs from patients. As the analysis progresses, we hope that early detection of various types of cancer will become possible.”
Original: New device can use urine to detect brain tumors
Than: Nagoya University
