Proteomic Analysis of Urinary Extracellular Vesicles for the Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 30 Apr 2020 |
Image: Electron microscope image of urinary extracellular vesicles (EVs) (Photo courtesy of Pekka Rappu, University of Turku).
A new method for diagnosis of prostate cancer relies on advanced proteomics-based analysis of extracellular vesicles isolated from urine samples.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived vesicles that are present in many and perhaps all biological fluids, including blood, urine, and cultured medium of cell cultures. The vesicles, which contain RNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites that are reflective of the cell type of origin, are either released from the cell when multivesicular bodies (MVBs) fuse with the plasma membrane, or they are released directly from the plasma membrane.
EVs are increasingly being recognized as important vehicles of communication between cells and as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in cancer. Despite the huge clinical potential, the wide variety of methods for separating EVs from biofluids, which provide material of highly variable purity, and the lack of knowledge regarding methodological reproducibility have impeded the entry of EVs into the clinical arena.
In an effort to increase the usefulness of EVs, investigators at Ghent University (Belgium) and colleagues at the University of Turku (Finland) used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyze EVs that had been separated and purified from urine by a novel procedure. This density-based fractionation of urine samples obtained from men with benign and malignant prostate disease by bottom-up Optiprep (the iodine-containing non-ionic radiocontrast agent iodixanol) density gradient centrifugation separated EVs and soluble proteins with high specificity and repeatability.
The investigators reported that differential quantitative proteomic analysis of EV-enriched and protein-enriched urine fractions identified unique and biologically and clinically relevant proteomes in urinary EVs. In addition, by profiling matched prostate cancer tissue-derived EVs and urinary EVs, they demonstrated that the urinary EV proteome was a reflection of that of EVs derived from the tissue of origin.
“Detecting and examining these vesicles in urine has an enormous potential for developing new tests for early detection of urological cancers. However, research related to this is still in its infancy,” said first author Bert Dhondt, a researcher in the laboratory for experimental cancer research at Ghent University. “In the future, the results of the study can aid patients with urological cancers through faster diagnosis and timely treatment.”
The proteomic analysis of EVs in the urine of prostate cancer patients was described in the March 11, 2020, online edition of Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.
Related Links:
Ghent University
University of Turku
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived vesicles that are present in many and perhaps all biological fluids, including blood, urine, and cultured medium of cell cultures. The vesicles, which contain RNA, proteins, lipids, and metabolites that are reflective of the cell type of origin, are either released from the cell when multivesicular bodies (MVBs) fuse with the plasma membrane, or they are released directly from the plasma membrane.
EVs are increasingly being recognized as important vehicles of communication between cells and as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in cancer. Despite the huge clinical potential, the wide variety of methods for separating EVs from biofluids, which provide material of highly variable purity, and the lack of knowledge regarding methodological reproducibility have impeded the entry of EVs into the clinical arena.
In an effort to increase the usefulness of EVs, investigators at Ghent University (Belgium) and colleagues at the University of Turku (Finland) used mass spectrometry-based proteomics to analyze EVs that had been separated and purified from urine by a novel procedure. This density-based fractionation of urine samples obtained from men with benign and malignant prostate disease by bottom-up Optiprep (the iodine-containing non-ionic radiocontrast agent iodixanol) density gradient centrifugation separated EVs and soluble proteins with high specificity and repeatability.
The investigators reported that differential quantitative proteomic analysis of EV-enriched and protein-enriched urine fractions identified unique and biologically and clinically relevant proteomes in urinary EVs. In addition, by profiling matched prostate cancer tissue-derived EVs and urinary EVs, they demonstrated that the urinary EV proteome was a reflection of that of EVs derived from the tissue of origin.
“Detecting and examining these vesicles in urine has an enormous potential for developing new tests for early detection of urological cancers. However, research related to this is still in its infancy,” said first author Bert Dhondt, a researcher in the laboratory for experimental cancer research at Ghent University. “In the future, the results of the study can aid patients with urological cancers through faster diagnosis and timely treatment.”
The proteomic analysis of EVs in the urine of prostate cancer patients was described in the March 11, 2020, online edition of Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.
Related Links:
Ghent University
University of Turku
Latest Molecular Diagnostics News
- Urine Test to Revolutionize Lyme Disease Testing
- Simple Blood Test Could Enable First Quantitative Assessments for Future Cerebrovascular Disease
- New Genetic Testing Procedure Combined With Ultrasound Detects High Cardiovascular Risk
- Blood Samples Enhance B-Cell Lymphoma Diagnostics and Prognosis
- Blood Test Predicts Knee Osteoarthritis Eight Years Before Signs Appears On X-Rays
- Blood Test Accurately Predicts Lung Cancer Risk and Reduces Need for Scans
- Unique Autoantibody Signature to Help Diagnose Multiple Sclerosis Years before Symptom Onset
- Blood Test Could Detect HPV-Associated Cancers 10 Years before Clinical Diagnosis
- Low-Cost Point-Of-Care Diagnostic to Expand Access to STI Testing
- 18-Gene Urine Test for Prostate Cancer to Help Avoid Unnecessary Biopsies
- Urine-Based Test Detects Head and Neck Cancer
- Blood-Based Test Detects and Monitors Aggressive Small Cell Lung Cancer
- Blood-Based Machine Learning Assay Noninvasively Detects Ovarian Cancer
- Simple PCR Assay Accurately Differentiates Between Small Cell Lung Cancer Subtypes
- Revolutionary T-Cell Analysis Approach Enables Cancer Early Detection
- Single Genetic Test to Accelerate Diagnoses for Rare Developmental Disorders