Fang Shimeng, Tian Hongzhu, Li Xiancheng, Jin Dong, Li Xiaojie, Kong Jing, Yang Chun, Yang Xuesong, Lu Yao, Luo Yong, Lin Bingcheng, Niu Weidong, Liu Tingjiao
College of Stomatology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
Department of Urology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
PLoS One. 2017 Apr 3;12(4):e0175050. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175050. eCollection 2017.
Increasing attention has been attracted by exosomes in blood-based diagnosis because cancer cells release more exosomes in serum than normal cells and these exosomes overexpress a certain number of cancer-related biomarkers. However, capture and biomarker analysis of exosomes for clinical application are technically challenging. In this study, we developed a microfluidic chip for immunocapture and quantification of circulating exosomes from small sample volume and applied this device in clinical study. Circulating EpCAM-positive exosomes were measured in 6 cases breast cancer patients and 3 healthy controls to assist diagnosis. A significant increase in the EpCAM-positive exosome level in these patients was detected, compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, we quantified circulating HER2-positive exosomes in 19 cases of breast cancer patients for molecular classification. We demonstrated that the exosomal HER2 expression levels were almost consistent with that in tumor tissues assessed by immunohistochemical staining. The microfluidic chip might provide a new platform to assist breast cancer diagnosis and molecular classification.
血液诊断中的外泌体已引起越来越多的关注，因为癌细胞在血清中释放的外泌体比正常细胞更多，并且这些外泌体过表达一定数量的癌症相关生物标志物。然而，用于临床应用的外泌体捕获和生物标志物分析在技术上具有挑战性。在本研究中，我们开发了一种微流控芯片，用于从小样本量中免疫捕获和定量循环外泌体，并将该装置应用于临床研究。对6例乳腺癌患者和3例健康对照者的循环EpCAM阳性外泌体进行检测以辅助诊断。与健康对照相比，这些患者的EpCAM阳性外泌体水平显著升高。此外，我们对19例乳腺癌患者的循环HER2阳性外泌体进行定量以进行分子分类。我们证明外泌体HER2表达水平与通过免疫组织化学染色评估的肿瘤组织中的表达水平几乎一致。该微流控芯片可能为辅助乳腺癌诊断和分子分类提供一个新平台。
