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Ong JLK, Jalaludin NFF, Wong MK, Tan SH, Angelina C, Sukhatme SA, Yeo T, Lim CT, Lee YT, Soh SY, Lim TKH, Tay TKY, Chang KTE, Chen ZX, Loh AH. Exosomal mRNA Cargo are biomarkers of tumor and immune cell populations in pediatric osteosarcoma. Transl Oncol 2024; 46:102008. [PMID: 38852279 DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2024.102008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Osteosarcoma is the commonest malignant bone tumor of children and adolescents and is characterized by a high risk of recurrence despite multimodal therapy, especially in metastatic disease. This suggests the presence of clinically undetected cancer cells that persist, leading to cancer recurrence. We sought to evaluate the utility of peripheral blood exosomes as a more sensitive yet minimally invasive blood test that could aid in evaluating treatment response and surveillance for potential disease recurrence. We extracted exosomes from the blood of pediatric osteosarcoma patients at diagnosis (n=7) and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (n=5 subset), as well as from age-matched cancer-free controls (n=3). We also obtained matched tumor biopsy samples (n=7) from the cases. Exosome isolation was verified by CD9 immunoblot and characterized on electron microscopy. Profiles of 780 cancer-related transcripts were analysed in mRNA from exosomes of osteosarcoma patients at diagnosis and control patients, matched post-chemotherapy samples, and matched primary tumor samples. Peripheral blood exosomes of osteosarcoma patients at diagnosis were significantly smaller than those of controls and overexpressed extracellular matrix protein gene THBS1 and B cell markers MS4A1 and TCL1A. Immunohistochemical staining of corresponding tumor samples verified the expression of THBS1 on tumor cells and osteoid matrix, and its persistence in a treatment-refractory patient, as well as the B cell origin of the latter. These hold potential as liquid biopsy biomarkers of disease burden and host immune response in osteosarcoma. Our findings suggest that exosomes may provide novel and clinically-important insights into the pathophysiology of cancers such as osteosarcoma.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Meng Kang Wong
- VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sheng Hui Tan
- VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Clara Angelina
- Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sarvesh A Sukhatme
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Trifanny Yeo
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - York Tien Lee
- Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shui Yen Soh
- Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Paediatric Subspecialties Haematology/Oncology Service, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tony K H Lim
- Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Anatomic Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Timothy Kwang Yong Tay
- Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Anatomic Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kenneth Tou En Chang
- Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhi Xiong Chen
- Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore; NUS Centre for Cancer Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Amos Hp Loh
- Duke NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore; VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumor Programme, Children's Blood and Cancer Centre, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
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2
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González-Cao M, Cai X, Bracht JWP, Han X, Yang Y, Pedraz-Valdunciel C, Morán T, García-Corbacho J, Aguilar A, Bernabé R, De Marchi P, Sussuchi da Silva L, Leal LF, Reis RM, Codony-Servat J, Jantus-Lewintre E, Molina-Vila MA, Cao P, Rosell R. HMGB1 Expression Levels Correlate with Response to Immunotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. LUNG CANCER (AUCKLAND, N.Z.) 2024; 15:55-67. [PMID: 38741920 PMCID: PMC11090191 DOI: 10.2147/lctt.s455034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Purpose High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is subject to exportin 1 (XPO1)-dependent nuclear export, and it is involved in functions implicated in resistance to immunotherapy. We investigated whether HMGB1 mRNA expression was associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients and Methods RNA was isolated from pretreatment biopsies of patients with advanced NSCLC treated with ICI. Gene expression analysis of several genes, including HMGB1, was conducted using the NanoString Counter analysis system (PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel). Western blotting analysis and cell viability assays in EGFR and KRAS mutant cell lines were carried out. Evaluation of the antitumoral effect of ICI in combination with XPO1 blocker (selinexor) and trametinib was determined in a murine Lewis lung carcinoma model. Results HMGB1 mRNA levels in NSCLC patients treated with ICI correlated with progression-free survival (PFS) (median PFS 9.0 versus 18.0 months, P=0.008, hazard ratio=0.30 in high versus low HMGB1). After TNF-α stimulation, HMGB1 accumulates in the cytoplasm of PC9 cells, but this accumulation can be prevented by using selinexor or antiretroviral drugs. Erlotinib or osimertinib with selinexor in EGFR-mutant cells and trametinib plus selinexor in KRAS mutant abolish tumor cell proliferation. Selinexor with a PD-1 inhibitor with or without trametinib abrogates the tumor growth in the murine Lewis lung cancer model. Conclusion An in-depth exploration of the functions of HMGB1 mRNA and protein is expected to uncover new potential targets and provide a basis for treating metastatic NSCLC in combination with ICI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria González-Cao
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, Instituto Oncológico Dr Rosell, Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xueting Cai
- Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Department of Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
| | | | - Xuan Han
- Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Department of Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yang Yang
- Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Department of Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
| | | | - Teresa Morán
- Medical Oncology Department, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital, Badalona, Spain
| | - Javier García-Corbacho
- Medical Oncology Department (Hospital Clinic)/Translational Genomics and Targeted Therapies in Solid Tumors (IDIBAPs), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Andrés Aguilar
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, Instituto Oncológico Dr Rosell, Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Reyes Bernabé
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Pedro De Marchi
- Molecular Oncology Research Center; Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
- Oncoclinicas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Leticia Ferro Leal
- Molecular Oncology Research Center; Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
| | - Rui Manuel Reis
- Molecular Oncology Research Center; Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, Brazil
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3b’s – PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Jordi Codony-Servat
- Laboratory of Oncology, Pangaea Oncology, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Eloisa Jantus-Lewintre
- Valencian Community Foundation Principe Felipe Research Center, Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBERONC), Madrid, Spain
- Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Biotechnology Department, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Peng Cao
- Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Department of Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
- College of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China
| | - Rafael Rosell
- Translational Cancer Research Unit, Instituto Oncológico Dr Rosell, Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Germans Trias i Pujol Health Sciences Institute and Hospital (IGTP), Badalona, Spain
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Belliveau J, Thompson W, Papoutsakis ET. Kinetic and functional analysis of abundant microRNAs in extracellular vesicles from normal and stressed cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells. Biotechnol Bioeng 2024; 121:118-130. [PMID: 37859509 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells release and exchange large quantities of extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are highly enriched in microRNAs (miRs, or miRNAs), which are responsible for most of their biological effects. We have recently shown that the miR content of CHO EVs varies significantly under culture stress conditions. Here, we provide a novel stoichiometric ("per-EV") quantification of miR and protein levels in large CHO EVs produced under ammonia, lactate, osmotic, and age-related stress. Each stress resulted in distinct EV miR levels, with selective miR loading by parent cells. Our data provide a proof of concept for the use of CHO EV cargo as a diagnostic tool for identifying culture stress. We also tested the impact of three select miRs (let-7a, miR-21, and miR-92a) on CHO cell growth and viability. Let-7a-abundant in CHO EVs from stressed cultures-reduced CHO cell viability, while miR-92a-abundant in CHO EVs from unstressed cultures-promoted cell survival. Overexpression of miR-21 had a slight detrimental impact on CHO cell growth and viability during late exponential-phase culture, an unexpected result based on the reported antiapoptotic role of miR-21 in other mammalian cell lines. These findings provide novel relationships between CHO EV cargo and cell phenotype, suggesting that CHO EVs may exert both pro- and antiapoptotic effects on target cells, depending on the conditions under which they were produced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Belliveau
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Will Thompson
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
| | - Eleftherios T Papoutsakis
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
- Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA
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4
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Vergés C, Giménez-Capitán A, Ribas V, Salgado-Borges J, March de Ribot F, Mayo-de-Las-Casas C, Armiger-Borras N, Pedraz C, Molina-Vila MÁ. Gene expression signatures in conjunctival fornix aspirates of patients with dry eye disease associated with Meibomian gland dysfunction. A proof-of-concept study. Ocul Surf 2023; 30:42-50. [PMID: 37524297 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtos.2023.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is one of the most common conditions in ophthalmic practice and the most frequent cause of evaporative dry eye disease (DED). However, the immune mechanisms leading to this pathology are not fully understood and the diagnostic tests available are limited. Here, we used the nCounter technology to analyze immune gene expression in DED-MGD that can be used for developing diagnostic signatures for DED. METHODS Conjunctival cell samples were obtained by aspiration from patients with DED-MGD (n = 27) and asymptomatic controls (n = 22). RNA was purified, converted to cDNA, preamplified and analyzed using the Gene Expression Human Immune V2 panel (NanoString), which includes 579 target and 15 housekeeping genes. A machine learning (ML) algorithm was applied to design a signature associated with DED-MGD. RESULTS Forty-five immune genes were found upregulated in DED-MGD vs. controls, involved in eight signaling pathways, IFN I/II, MHC class I/II, immunometabolism, B cell receptor, T Cell receptor, and T helper-17 (Th-17) differentiation. Additionally, statistically significant correlations were found between 31 genes and clinical characteristics of the disease such as lid margin or tear osmolarity (Pearson's r < 0.05). ML analysis using a recursive feature elimination (RFE) algorithm selected a 4-gene mRNA signature that discriminated DED-MGD from control samples with an area under the ROC curve (AUC ROC) of 0.86 and an accuracy of 77.5%. CONCLUSIONS Multiplexed mRNA analysis of conjunctival cells can be used to analyze immune gene expression patterns in patients with DED-MGD and to generate diagnostic signatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Vergés
- Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitari Dexeus, Area Oftalmológica Avanzada, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Ana Giménez-Capitán
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Verónica Ribas
- Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitari Dexeus, Area Oftalmológica Avanzada, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - José Salgado-Borges
- Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitari Dexeus, Area Oftalmológica Avanzada, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc March de Ribot
- Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitari Dexeus, Area Oftalmológica Avanzada, Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Noelia Armiger-Borras
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos Pedraz
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain
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5
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Giménez‐Capitán A, Sánchez‐Herrero E, Robado de Lope L, Aguilar‐Hernández A, Sullivan I, Calvo V, Moya‐Horno I, Viteri S, Cabrera C, Aguado C, Armiger N, Valarezo J, Mayo‐de‐las‐Casas C, Reguart N, Rosell R, Provencio M, Romero A, Molina‐Vila MA. Detecting ALK, ROS1, and RET fusions and the METΔex14 splicing variant in liquid biopsies of non-small-cell lung cancer patients using RNA-based techniques. Mol Oncol 2023; 17:1884-1897. [PMID: 37243883 PMCID: PMC10483610 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023] Open
Abstract
ALK, ROS1, and RET fusions and MET∆ex14 variant associate with response to targeted therapies in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Technologies for fusion testing in tissue must be adapted to liquid biopsies, which are often the only material available. In this study, circulating-free RNA (cfRNA) and extracellular vesicle RNA (EV-RNA) were purified from liquid biopsies. Fusion and MET∆ex14 transcripts were analyzed by nCounter (Nanostring) and digital PCR (dPCR) using the QuantStudio® System (Applied Biosystems). We found that nCounter detected ALK, ROS1, RET, or MET∆ex14 aberrant transcripts in 28/40 cfRNA samples from positive patients and 0/16 of control individuals (70% sensitivity). Regarding dPCR, aberrant transcripts were detected in the cfRNA of 25/40 positive patients. Concordance between the two techniques was 58%. Inferior results were obtained when analyzing EV-RNA, where nCounter often failed due to a low amount of input RNA. Finally, results of dPCR testing in serial liquid biopsies of five patients correlated with response to targeted therapy. We conclude that nCounter can be used for multiplex detection of fusion and MET∆ex14 transcripts in liquid biopsies, showing a performance comparable with next-generation sequencing platforms. dPCR could be employed for disease follow-up in patients with a known alteration. cfRNA should be preferred over EV-RNA for these analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Giménez‐Capitán
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of OncologyDexeus University HospitalBarcelonaSpain
| | - Estela Sánchez‐Herrero
- Atrys HealthBarcelonaSpain
- Liquid Biopsy LaboratoryBiomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro‐MajadahondaMadridSpain
| | - Lucía Robado de Lope
- Liquid Biopsy LaboratoryBiomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro‐MajadahondaMadridSpain
| | | | - Ivana Sullivan
- Dr Rosell Oncology InstituteQuirón Dexeus University HospitalBarcelonaSpain
- Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant PauBarcelonaSpain
| | - Virginia Calvo
- Medical Oncology DepartmentHospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro‐MajadahondaSpain
| | - Irene Moya‐Horno
- Hospital Universitario General de Cataluña Grupo QuirónSant Cugat del VallésSpain
| | | | | | - Cristina Aguado
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of OncologyDexeus University HospitalBarcelonaSpain
| | - Noelia Armiger
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of OncologyDexeus University HospitalBarcelonaSpain
| | - Joselyn Valarezo
- Pangaea Oncology, Laboratory of OncologyDexeus University HospitalBarcelonaSpain
| | | | | | - Rafael Rosell
- Dr Rosell Oncology InstituteQuirón Dexeus University HospitalBarcelonaSpain
- Hospital Germans Trias i PujolHealth Sciences Institute and Hospital (IGTP)BarcelonaSpain
| | - Mariano Provencio
- Medical Oncology DepartmentHospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro‐MajadahondaSpain
| | - Atocha Romero
- Liquid Biopsy LaboratoryBiomedical Sciences Research Institute Puerta de Hierro‐MajadahondaMadridSpain
- Medical Oncology DepartmentHospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro‐MajadahondaSpain
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Hu M, Brown V, Jackson JM, Wijerathne H, Pathak H, Koestler DC, Nissen E, Hupert ML, Muller R, Godwin AK, Witek MA, Soper SA. Assessing Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes Using Extracellular Vesicles' mRNA. Anal Chem 2023; 95:7665-7675. [PMID: 37071799 PMCID: PMC10243595 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c00624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2023]
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry RNA cargo that is believed to be associated with the cell-of-origin and thus have the potential to serve as a minimally invasive liquid biopsy marker for supplying molecular information to guide treatment decisions (i.e., precision medicine). We report the affinity isolation of EV subpopulations with monoclonal antibodies attached to the surface of a microfluidic chip that is made from a plastic to allow for high-scale production. The EV microfluidic affinity purification (EV-MAP) chip was used for the isolation of EVs sourced from two-orthogonal cell types and was demonstrated for its utility in a proof-of-concept application to provide molecular subtyping information for breast cancer patients. The orthogonal selection process better recapitulated the epithelial tumor microenvironment by isolating two subpopulations of EVs: EVEpCAM (epithelial cell adhesion molecule, epithelial origin) and EVFAPα (fibroblast activation protein α, mesenchymal origin). The EV-MAP provided recovery >80% with a specificity of 99 ± 1% based on exosomal mRNA (exo-mRNA) and real time-droplet digital polymerase chain reaction results. When selected from the plasma of healthy donors and breast cancer patients, EVs did not differ in size or total RNA mass for both markers. On average, 0.5 mL of plasma from breast cancer patients yielded ∼2.25 ng of total RNA for both EVEpCAM and EVFAPα, while in the case of cancer-free individuals, it yielded 0.8 and 1.25 ng of total RNA from EVEpCAM and EVFAPα, respectively. To assess the potential of these two EV subpopulations to provide molecular information for prognostication, we performed the PAM50 test (Prosigna) on exo-mRNA harvested from each EV subpopulation. Results suggested that EVEpCAM and EVFAPα exo-mRNA profiling using subsets of the PAM50 genes and a novel algorithm (i.e., exo-PAM50) generated 100% concordance with the tumor tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjia Hu
- Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Cancer Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
| | - Virginia Brown
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Bioengineering Program, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
| | - Joshua M Jackson
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
| | - Harshani Wijerathne
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
| | - Harsh Pathak
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
- Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
| | - Devin C Koestler
- Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
| | - Emily Nissen
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
| | | | - Rolf Muller
- BioFluidica, Inc., San Diego, California 92121, United States
| | - Andrew K Godwin
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
- Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
| | - Malgorzata A Witek
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
| | - Steven A Soper
- Department of Cancer Biology, The University of Kansas Medical Center, Cancer Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
- Center of BioModular Multi-Scale Systems for Precision Medicine, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Bioengineering Program, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
- Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas 66160, United States
- BioFluidica, Inc., San Diego, California 92121, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
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7
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Combinatorial Blood Platelets-Derived circRNA and mRNA Signature for Early-Stage Lung Cancer Detection. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054881. [PMID: 36902312 PMCID: PMC10003255 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the diversity of liquid biopsy transcriptomic repertoire, numerous studies often exploit only a single RNA type signature for diagnostic biomarker potential. This frequently results in insufficient sensitivity and specificity necessary to reach diagnostic utility. Combinatorial biomarker approaches may offer a more reliable diagnosis. Here, we investigated the synergistic contributions of circRNA and mRNA signatures derived from blood platelets as biomarkers for lung cancer detection. We developed a comprehensive bioinformatics pipeline permitting an analysis of platelet-circRNA and mRNA derived from non-cancer individuals and lung cancer patients. An optimal selected signature is then used to generate the predictive classification model using machine learning algorithm. Using an individual signature of 21 circRNA and 28 mRNA, the predictive models reached an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88 and 0.81, respectively. Importantly, combinatorial analysis including both types of RNAs resulted in an 8-target signature (6 mRNA and 2 circRNA), enhancing the differentiation of lung cancer from controls (AUC of 0.92). Additionally, we identified five biomarkers potentially specific for early-stage detection of lung cancer. Our proof-of-concept study presents the first multi-analyte-based approach for the analysis of platelets-derived biomarkers, providing a potential combinatorial diagnostic signature for lung cancer detection.
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8
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Craddock V, Mahajan A, Spikes L, Krishnamachary B, Ram AK, Kumar A, Chen L, Chalise P, Dhillon NK. Persistent circulation of soluble and extracellular vesicle-linked Spike protein in individuals with postacute sequelae of COVID-19. J Med Virol 2023; 95:e28568. [PMID: 36756925 PMCID: PMC10048846 DOI: 10.1002/jmv.28568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 37.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19 disease, has resulted in the death of millions worldwide since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019. While much progress has been made to understand acute manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection, less is known about post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). We investigated the levels of both Spike protein (Spike) and viral RNA circulating in patients hospitalized with acute COVID-19 and in patients with and without PASC. We found that Spike and viral RNA were more likely to be present in patients with PASC. Among these patients, 30% were positive for both Spike and viral RNA; whereas, none of the individuals without PASC were positive for both. The levels of Spike and/or viral RNA in the PASC+ve patients were found to be increased or remained the same as in the acute phase; whereas, in the PASC-ve group, these viral components decreased or were totally absent. Additionally, this is the first report to show that part of the circulating Spike is linked to extracellular vesicles without any presence of viral RNA in these vesicles. In conclusion, our findings suggest that Spike and/or viral RNA fragments persist in the recovered COVID-19 patients with PASC up to 1 year or longer after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaughn Craddock
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Aatish Mahajan
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Leslie Spikes
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Balaji Krishnamachary
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Anil Kumar Ram
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Ashok Kumar
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Ling Chen
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Prabhakar Chalise
- Department of Biostatistics & Data Science, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
| | - Navneet K. Dhillon
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
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Extracellular Vesicles' Genetic Cargo as Noninvasive Biomarkers in Cancer: A Pilot Study Using ExoGAG Technology. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11020404. [PMID: 36830940 PMCID: PMC9953104 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11020404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The two most developed biomarkers in liquid biopsy (LB)-circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA-have been joined by the analysis of extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are lipid-bilayer enclosed structures released by all cell types containing a variety of molecules, including DNA, mRNA and miRNA. However, fast, efficient and a high degree of purity isolation technologies are necessary for their clinical routine implementation. In this work, the use of ExoGAG, a new easy-to-use EV isolation technology, was validated for the isolation of EVs from plasma and urine samples. After demonstrating its efficiency, an analysis of the genetic material contained in the EVs was carried out. Firstly, the sensitivity of the detection of point mutations in DNA from plasma EVs isolated by ExoGAG was analyzed. Then, a pilot study of mRNA expression using the nCounter NanoString platform in EV-mRNA from a healthy donor, a benign prostate hyperplasia patient and metastatic prostate cancer patient plasma and urine samples was performed, identifying the prostate cancer pathway as one of the main ones. This work provides evidence for the value of using ExoGAG for the isolation of EVs from plasma and urine samples, enabling downstream applications of the analysis of their genetic cargo.
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Gene-Transcript Expression in Urine Supernatant and Urine Cell-Sediment Are Different but Equally Useful for Detecting Prostate Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15030789. [PMID: 36765747 PMCID: PMC9913640 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15030789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
There is considerable interest in urine as a non-invasive liquid biopsy to detect prostate cancer (PCa). PCa-specific transcripts such as the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion gene can be found in both urine extracellular vesicles (EVs) and urine cell-sediment (Cell) but the relative usefulness of these and other genes in each fraction in PCa detection has not been fully elucidated. Urine samples from 76 men (PCa n = 40, non-cancer n = 36) were analysed by NanoString for 154 PCa-associated genes-probes, 11 tissue-specific, and six housekeeping. Comparison to qRT-PCR data for four genes (PCA3, OR51E2, FOLH1, and RPLP2) was strong (r = 0.51-0.95, Spearman p < 0.00001). Comparing EV to Cells, differential gene expression analysis found 57 gene-probes significantly more highly expressed in 100 ng of amplified cDNA products from the EV fraction, and 26 in Cells (p < 0.05; edgeR). Expression levels of prostate-specific genes (KLK2, KLK3) measured were ~20× higher in EVs, while PTPRC (white-blood Cells) was ~1000× higher in Cells. Boruta analysis identified 11 gene-probes as useful in detecting PCa: two were useful in both fractions (PCA3, HOXC6), five in EVs alone (GJB1, RPS10, TMPRSS2:ERG, ERG_Exons_4-5, HPN) and four from Cell (ERG_Exons_6-7, OR51E2, SPINK1, IMPDH2), suggesting that it is beneficial to fractionate whole urine prior to analysis. The five housekeeping genes were not significantly differentially expressed between PCa and non-cancer samples. Expression signatures from Cell, EV and combined data did not show evidence for one fraction providing superior information over the other.
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MMP-9 as Prognostic Marker for Brain Tumours: A Comparative Study on Serum-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15030712. [PMID: 36765669 PMCID: PMC9913777 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15030712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) degrades the extracellular matrix, contributes to tumour cell invasion and metastasis, and its elevated level in brain tumour tissues indicates poor prognosis. High-risk tissue biopsy can be replaced by liquid biopsy; however, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) prevents tumour-associated components from entering the peripheral blood, making the development of blood-based biomarkers challenging. Therefore, we examined the MMP-9 content of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs)-which can cross the BBB and are stable in body fluids-to characterise tumours with different invasion capacity. From four patient groups (glioblastoma multiforme, brain metastases of lung cancer, meningioma, and lumbar disc herniation as controls), 222 serum-derived sEV samples were evaluated. After isolating and characterising sEVs, their MMP-9 content was measured by ELISA and assessed statistically (correlation, paired t-test, Welch's test, ANOVA, ROC). We found that the MMP-9 content of sEVs is independent of gender and age, but is affected by surgical intervention, treatment, and recurrence. We found a relation between low MMP-9 level in sEVs (<28 ppm) and improved survival (8-month advantage) of glioblastoma patients, and MMP-9 levels showed a positive correlation with aggressiveness. These findings suggest that vesicular MMP-9 level might be a useful prognostic marker for brain tumours.
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Pedraz-Valdunciel C, Giannoukakos S, Giménez-Capitán A, Fortunato D, Filipska M, Bertran-Alamillo J, Bracht JWP, Drozdowskyj A, Valarezo J, Zarovni N, Fernández-Hilario A, Hackenberg M, Aguilar-Hernández A, Molina-Vila MÁ, Rosell R. Multiplex Analysis of CircRNAs from Plasma Extracellular Vesicle-Enriched Samples for the Detection of Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:2034. [PMID: 36297470 PMCID: PMC9610636 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14102034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The analysis of liquid biopsies brings new opportunities in the precision oncology field. Under this context, extracellular vesicle circular RNAs (EV-circRNAs) have gained interest as biomarkers for lung cancer (LC) detection. However, standardized and robust protocols need to be developed to boost their potential in the clinical setting. Although nCounter has been used for the analysis of other liquid biopsy substrates and biomarkers, it has never been employed for EV-circRNA analysis of LC patients. METHODS EVs were isolated from early-stage LC patients (n = 36) and controls (n = 30). Different volumes of plasma, together with different number of pre-amplification cycles, were tested to reach the best nCounter outcome. Differential expression analysis of circRNAs was performed, along with the testing of different machine learning (ML) methods for the development of a prognostic signature for LC. RESULTS A combination of 500 μL of plasma input with 10 cycles of pre-amplification was selected for the rest of the study. Eight circRNAs were found upregulated in LC. Further ML analysis selected a 10-circRNA signature able to discriminate LC from controls with AUC ROC of 0.86. CONCLUSIONS This study validates the use of the nCounter platform for multiplexed EV-circRNA expression studies in LC patient samples, allowing the development of prognostic signatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Pedraz-Valdunciel
- Department of Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine, Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biomedicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Campus de Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
- Laboratory of Oncology, Pangaea Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Stavros Giannoukakos
- Department of Genetics, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Ana Giménez-Capitán
- Laboratory of Oncology, Pangaea Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Martyna Filipska
- Department of Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine, Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- B Cell Biology Group, Hospital del Mar Biomedical Research Park (IMIM), Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Bertran-Alamillo
- Laboratory of Oncology, Pangaea Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jillian W. P. Bracht
- Vesicle Observation Centre, Laboratory of Experimental Clinical Chemistry, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, 1105AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Cancer Center Amsterdam, Imaging and Biomarkers, 1105AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ana Drozdowskyj
- Oncology Institute Dr. Rosell (IOR), Dexeus University Institute, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joselyn Valarezo
- Laboratory of Oncology, Pangaea Oncology, Dexeus University Hospital, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Alberto Fernández-Hilario
- Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, DaSCI., University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Michael Hackenberg
- Department of Genetics, Facultad de Ciencias, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | | | | | - Rafael Rosell
- Department of Cancer Biology and Precision Medicine, Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Spain
- Oncology Institute Dr. Rosell (IOR), Dexeus University Institute, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute of Oncology, Campus Can Ruti, 08916 Badalona, Spain
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Jeong MH, Han H, Lagares D, Im H. Recent Advances in Molecular Diagnosis of Pulmonary Fibrosis for Precision Medicine. ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci 2022; 5:520-538. [DOI: 10.1021/acsptsci.2c00028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mi Ho Jeong
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
| | - Hongwei Han
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
| | - David Lagares
- Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
| | - Hyungsoon Im
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, United States
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Bub A, Brenna S, Alawi M, Kügler P, Gui Y, Kretz O, Altmeppen H, Magnus T, Puig B. Multiplexed mRNA analysis of brain-derived extracellular vesicles upon experimental stroke in mice reveals increased mRNA content with potential relevance to inflammation and recovery processes. Cell Mol Life Sci 2022; 79:329. [PMID: 35639208 PMCID: PMC9156510 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04357-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer-enclosed structures that represent newly discovered means for cell-to-cell communication as well as promising disease biomarkers and therapeutic tools. Apart from proteins, lipids, and metabolites, EVs can deliver genetic information such as mRNA, eliciting a response in the recipient cells. In the present study, we have analyzed the mRNA content of brain-derived EVs (BDEVs) isolated 72 h after experimental stroke in mice and compared them to controls (shams) using nCounter® Nanostring panels, with or without prior RNA isolation. We found that both panels show similar results when comparing upregulated mRNAs in stroke. Notably, the highest upregulated mRNAs were related to processes of stress and immune system responses, but also to anatomical structure development, cell differentiation, and extracellular matrix organization, thus indicating that regenerative mechanisms already take place at this time-point. The five top overrepresented mRNAs in stroke mice were confirmed by RT-qPCR and, interestingly, found to be full-length. We could reveal that the majority of the mRNA cargo in BDEVs was of microglial origin and predominantly present in small BDEVs (≤ 200 nm in diameter). However, the EV population with the highest increase in the total BDEVs pool at 72 h after stroke was of oligodendrocytic origin. Our study shows that nCounter® panels are a good tool to study mRNA content in tissue-derived EVs as they can be carried out even without previous mRNA isolation, and that the mRNA cargo of BDEVs indicates a possible participation in inflammatory but also recovery processes after stroke.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Bub
- Neurology Department, Experimental Research in Stroke and Inflammation (ERSI), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Santra Brenna
- Neurology Department, Experimental Research in Stroke and Inflammation (ERSI), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Malik Alawi
- Bioinformatics Core, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Paul Kügler
- Neurology Department, Experimental Research in Stroke and Inflammation (ERSI), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Yuqi Gui
- Neurology Department, Experimental Research in Stroke and Inflammation (ERSI), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Oliver Kretz
- III Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hermann Altmeppen
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tim Magnus
- Neurology Department, Experimental Research in Stroke and Inflammation (ERSI), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Berta Puig
- Neurology Department, Experimental Research in Stroke and Inflammation (ERSI), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
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Mintz R, Wang M, Xu S, Colditz GA, Markovic C, Toriola AT. Hormone and receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK) pathway gene expression in plasma and mammographic breast density in postmenopausal women. Breast Cancer Res 2022; 24:28. [PMID: 35422057 PMCID: PMC9008951 DOI: 10.1186/s13058-022-01522-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hormones impact breast tissue proliferation. Studies investigating the associations of circulating hormone levels with mammographic breast density have reported conflicting results. Due to the limited number of studies, we investigated the associations of hormone gene expression as well as their downstream mediators within the plasma with mammographic breast density in postmenopausal women. Methods We recruited postmenopausal women at their annual screening mammogram at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. We used the NanoString nCounter platform to quantify gene expression of hormones (prolactin, progesterone receptor (PGR), estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT1 and STAT5), and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB (RANK) pathway markers (RANK, RANKL, osteoprotegerin, TNFRSF18, and TNFRSF13B) in plasma. We used Volpara to measure volumetric percent density, dense volume, and non-dense volume. Linear regression models, adjusted for confounders, were used to evaluate associations between gene expression (linear fold change) and mammographic breast density. Results One unit increase in ESR1, RANK, and TNFRSF18 gene expression was associated with 8% (95% CI 0–15%, p value = 0.05), 10% (95% CI 0–20%, p value = 0.04) and % (95% CI 0–9%, p value = 0.04) higher volumetric percent density, respectively. There were no associations between gene expression of other markers and volumetric percent density. One unit increase in osteoprotegerin and PGR gene expression was associated with 12% (95% CI 4–19%, p value = 0.003) and 7% (95% CI 0–13%, p value = 0.04) lower non-dense volume, respectively. Conclusion These findings provide new insight on the associations of plasma hormonal and RANK pathway gene expression with mammographic breast density in postmenopausal women and require confirmation in other studies. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13058-022-01522-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Mintz
- Biomedical Engineering Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Mei Wang
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8100, 660 South Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Shuai Xu
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8100, 660 South Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Graham A Colditz
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8100, 660 South Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.,Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Chris Markovic
- McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 63018, USA
| | - Adetunji T Toriola
- Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8100, 660 South Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA. .,Siteman Cancer Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
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Single nCounter assay for prediction of MYCN amplification and molecular classification of medulloblastomas: a multicentric study. J Neurooncol 2022; 157:27-35. [PMID: 35166989 DOI: 10.1007/s11060-022-03965-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Medulloblastoma is the most frequent pediatric malignant brain tumor, and is divided into four main subgroups: WNT, SHH, group 3, and group 4. MYCN amplification is an important medulloblastoma prognostic biomarker. We aimed to molecular classify and predict MYCN amplification in a single assay. METHODS It was included 209 medulloblastomas from 205 patients (Brazil, Argentina, and Portugal), divided into training (n = 50) and validation (n = 159) sets. A nCounter assay was carried out using a custom panel for molecular classification, with additional genes, including MYCN. nSolver 4.0 software and the R environment were used for profiling and MYCN mRNA analysis. MYCN amplification by FISH was performed in 64 cases. RESULTS The 205 medulloblastomas were classified in SHH (44.9%), WNT (15.6%), group 3 (18.1%) and group 4 (21.4%). In the training set, MYCN amplification was detected in three SHH medulloblastomas by FISH, which showed significantly higher MYCN mRNA counts than non-FISH amplified cases, and a cutoff for MYCN amplification was established ([Formula: see text] + 4σ = 11,124.3). Applying this threshold value in the validation set, we identified MYCN mRNA counts above the cutoff in three cases, which were FISH validated. CONCLUSION We successfully stratified medulloblastoma molecular subgroups and predicted MYCN amplification using a single nCounter assay without the requirement of additional biological tissue, costs, or bench time.
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Tesovnik T, Jenko Bizjan B, Šket R, Debeljak M, Battelino T, Kovač J. Technological Approaches in the Analysis of Extracellular Vesicle Nucleotide Sequences. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2021; 9:787551. [PMID: 35004647 PMCID: PMC8733665 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.787551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Together with metabolites, proteins, and lipid components, the EV cargo consists of DNA and RNA nucleotide sequence species, which are part of the intracellular communication network regulating specific cellular processes and provoking distinct target cell responses. The extracellular vesicle (EV) nucleotide sequence cargo molecules are often investigated in association with a particular pathology and may provide an insight into the physiological and pathological processes in hard-to-access organs and tissues. The diversity and biological function of EV nucleotide sequences are distinct regarding EV subgroups and differ in tissue- and cell-released EVs. EV DNA is present mainly in apoptotic bodies, while there are different species of EV RNAs in all subgroups of EVs. A limited sample volume of unique human liquid biopsy provides a small amount of EVs with limited isolated DNA and RNA, which can be a challenging factor for EV nucleotide sequence analysis, while the additional difficulty is technical variability of molecular nucleotide detection. Every EV study is challenged with its first step of the EV isolation procedure, which determines the EV's purity, yield, and diameter range and has an impact on the EV's downstream analysis with a significant impact on the final result. The gold standard EV isolation procedure with ultracentrifugation provides a low output and not highly pure isolated EVs, while modern techniques increase EV's yield and purity. Different EV DNA and RNA detection techniques include the PCR procedure for nucleotide sequence replication of the molecules of interest, which can undergo a small-input EV DNA or RNA material. The nucleotide sequence detection approaches with their advantages and disadvantages should be considered to appropriately address the study problem and to extract specific EV nucleotide sequence information with the detection using qPCR or next-generation sequencing. Advanced next-generation sequencing techniques allow the detection of total EV genomic or transcriptomic data even at the single-molecule resolution and thus, offering a sensitive and accurate EV DNA or RNA biomarker detection. Additionally, with the processes where the EV genomic or transcriptomic data profiles are compared to identify characteristic EV differences in specific conditions, novel biomarkers could be discovered. Therefore, a suitable differential expression analysis is crucial to define the EV DNA or RNA differences between conditions under investigation. Further bioinformatics analysis can predict molecular cell targets and identify targeted and affected cellular pathways. The prediction target tools with functional studies are essential to help specify the role of the investigated EV-targeted nucleotide sequences in health and disease and support further development of EV-related therapeutics. This review will discuss the biological diversity of human liquid biopsy-obtained EV nucleotide sequences DNA and RNA species reported as potential biomarkers in health and disease and methodological principles of their detection, from human liquid biopsy EV isolation, EV nucleotide sequence extraction, techniques for their detection, and their cell target prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tine Tesovnik
- Institute for Special Laboratory Diagnostics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Barbara Jenko Bizjan
- Institute for Special Laboratory Diagnostics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Robert Šket
- Institute for Special Laboratory Diagnostics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maruša Debeljak
- Institute for Special Laboratory Diagnostics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tadej Battelino
- Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Faculty of Medicine, Chair of Paediatrics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jernej Kovač
- Institute for Special Laboratory Diagnostics, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, University Children’s Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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18
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Holcar M, Kandušer M, Lenassi M. Blood Nanoparticles - Influence on Extracellular Vesicle Isolation and Characterization. Front Pharmacol 2021; 12:773844. [PMID: 34867406 PMCID: PMC8635996 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.773844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Blood is a rich source of disease biomarkers, which include extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs are nanometer-to micrometer-sized spherical particles that are enclosed by a phospholipid bilayer and are secreted by most cell types. EVs reflect the physiological cell of origin in terms of their molecular composition and biophysical characteristics, and they accumulate in blood even when released from remote organs or tissues, while protecting their cargo from degradation. The molecular components (e.g., proteins, miRNAs) and biophysical characteristics (e.g., size, concentration) of blood EVs have been studied as biomarkers of cancers and neurodegenerative, autoimmune, and cardiovascular diseases. However, most biomarker studies do not address the problem of contaminants in EV isolates from blood plasma, and how these might affect downstream EV analysis. Indeed, nonphysiological EVs, protein aggregates, lipoproteins and viruses share many molecular and/or biophysical characteristics with EVs, and can therefore co-isolate with EVs from blood plasma. Consequently, isolation and downstream analysis of EVs from blood plasma remain a unique challenge, with important impacts on the outcomes of biomarker studies. To help improve rigor, reproducibility, and reliability of EV biomarker studies, we describe here the major contaminants of EV isolates from blood plasma, and we report on how different EV isolation methods affect their levels, and how contaminants that remain can affect the interpretation of downstream EV analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Holcar
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Maša Kandušer
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Metka Lenassi
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Costanzi E, Simioni C, Varano G, Brenna C, Conti I, Neri LM. The Role of Extracellular Vesicles as Shuttles of RNA and Their Clinical Significance as Biomarkers in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12060902. [PMID: 34207985 PMCID: PMC8230662 DOI: 10.3390/genes12060902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have attracted interest as mediators of intercellular communication following the discovery that EVs contain RNA molecules, including non-coding RNA (ncRNA). Growing evidence for the enrichment of peculiar RNA species in specific EV subtypes has been demonstrated. ncRNAs, transferred from donor cells to recipient cells, confer to EVs the feature to regulate the expression of genes involved in differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, and other biological processes. These multiple actions require accuracy in the isolation of RNA content from EVs and the methodologies used play a relevant role. In liver, EVs play a crucial role in regulating cell-cell communications and several pathophysiological events in the heterogeneous liver class of cells via horizontal transfer of their cargo. This review aims to discuss the rising role of EVs and their ncRNAs content in regulating specific aspects of hepatocellular carcinoma development, including tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. We analyze the progress in EV-ncRNAs' potential clinical applications as important diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for liver conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Costanzi
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (E.C.); (G.V.); (C.B.); (I.C.)
| | - Carolina Simioni
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA)—Electron Microscopy Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Gabriele Varano
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (E.C.); (G.V.); (C.B.); (I.C.)
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA)—Electron Microscopy Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Cinzia Brenna
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (E.C.); (G.V.); (C.B.); (I.C.)
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA)—Electron Microscopy Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Ilaria Conti
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (E.C.); (G.V.); (C.B.); (I.C.)
| | - Luca Maria Neri
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; (E.C.); (G.V.); (C.B.); (I.C.)
- Laboratory for Technologies of Advanced Therapies (LTTA)—Electron Microscopy Center, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0532-455940
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Zhang P, Lim SB, Jiang K, Chew TW, Low BC, Lim CT. Distinct mRNAs in Cancer Extracellular Vesicles Activate Angiogenesis and Alter Transcriptome of Vascular Endothelial Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13092009. [PMID: 33921957 PMCID: PMC8122258 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13092009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Cancer extracellular vesicles (EVs) are implicated in various processes of cancer development, with most of the EV-induced changes attributed to EV proteins and microRNAs. However, the knowledge about the cancer EV-mRNAs remains limited. Here, we have assessed the mRNAs of 61 diverse oncogenes and found half of them, including VEGFA and SNAIL1/2, are abundant in cancer EVs while absent in non-tumorigenic cell-derived EVs. Fluorescent trafficking shows the EV VEGFA mRNAs are translatable after being internalized by the recipient cell. Concomitantly, the cancer EVs induced VEGFA-dependent angiogenesis and upregulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related genes. Our findings reveal that the EV-mRNA profile can reflect the cell malignancy, and the intercellular transfer of these mRNAs can contribute toward tumor angiogenesis. Abstract Cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been demonstrated to be implicated in various processes of cancer development, with most of the EV-induced changes attributed to EV-proteins and EV-microRNAs. However, the knowledge about the abundance of cancer EV-mRNAs and their contribution to cancer development remain elusive. Here, we show that mRNAs prevail in cancer EVs as compared with normal EVs, and cancer EVs that carry abundant angiogenic mRNAs activate angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Specifically, of a gene panel comprising 61 hypoxia-targeted oncogenes, a larger proportion is harbored by cancer EVs (>40%) than normal EVs (14.8%). Fluorescent trafficking indicates cancer EVs deliver translatable mRNAs such as VEGFA to HUVECs, contributing to the activation of VEGFR-dependent angiogenesis and the upregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related and metabolism-related genes. Overall, our findings provide novel insights into EV-mRNAs and their role in angiogenesis, and has potential for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Zhang
- NUS Graduate School—Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme (ISEP), National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore;
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore;
| | - Su Bin Lim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore;
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, Korea
| | - Kuan Jiang
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore; (K.J.); (T.W.C.)
| | - Ti Weng Chew
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore; (K.J.); (T.W.C.)
| | - Boon Chuan Low
- NUS Graduate School—Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme (ISEP), National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore;
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore; (K.J.); (T.W.C.)
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117558, Singapore
- University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore 138593, Singapore
- Correspondence: (B.C.L.); (C.T.L.)
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- NUS Graduate School—Integrative Sciences and Engineering Programme (ISEP), National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore;
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore;
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore; (K.J.); (T.W.C.)
- Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore
- Correspondence: (B.C.L.); (C.T.L.)
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Kan CFK, Unis GD, Li LZ, Gunn S, Li L, Soyer HP, Stark MS. Circulating Biomarkers for Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma Detection: Supplementation to Low-Dose Computed Tomography. Front Oncol 2021; 11:555331. [PMID: 33968710 PMCID: PMC8099172 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.555331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer death in both developing and developed countries. Given that lung cancer has poor prognosis in later stages, it is essential to achieve an early diagnosis to maximize patients’ overall survival. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common form of primary lung cancer in both smokers and non-smokers. The current standard screening method, low‐dose computed tomography (LDCT), is the only radiological method that demonstrates to have mortality benefits across multiple large randomized clinical trials (RCT). However, these RCTs also found LDCT to have a significant false positive rate that results in unnecessary invasive biopsies being performed. Due to the lack of both sensitive and specific screening methods for the early detection of lung cancer, there is an urgent need for alternative minimally or non-invasive biomarkers that may provide diagnostic, and/or prognostic information. This has led to the identification of circulating biomarkers that can be readily detectable in blood and have been extensively studied as prognosis markers. Circulating microRNA (miRNA) in particular has been investigated for these purposes as an augmentation to LDCT, or as direct diagnosis of lung cancer. There is, however, a lack of consensus across the studies on which miRNAs are the most clinically useful. Besides miRNA, other potential circulating biomarkers include circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNAs) and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). In this review, we provide the current outlook of several of these biomarkers for the early diagnosis of NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chin Fung Kelvin Kan
- The University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School, Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States.,The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Department of General Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Graham D Unis
- The University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School, Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Medicine, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Luke Z Li
- The University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School, Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Medicine, Stamford Hospital, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Stamford, CT, United States
| | - Susan Gunn
- The University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School, Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States.,Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Li Li
- The University of Queensland, Ochsner Clinical School, Laboratory of Translational Cancer Research, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - H Peter Soyer
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.,Department of Dermatology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Mitchell S Stark
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Dermatology Research Centre, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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