Department of Translational Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale, via Solaroli 17, Novara 28100, Italy; CAAD, Centre for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Diseases, Corso Trieste 15/A, Novara 28100, Italy.
CAAD, Centre for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Diseases, Corso Trieste 15/A, Novara 28100, Italy; Department of Sciences and Technological Innovation, University of Piemonte Orientale, viale T. Michel 11, Alessandria 15121, Italy.
Semin Cancer Biol. 2024 Sep;104-105:18-31. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2024.07.003. Epub 2024 Jul 27.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a promising source of early biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. They are enriched with diverse molecular content, such as proteins, DNA, mRNA, miRNA, lipids, and metabolites. EV proteins have been widely investigated as potential biomarkers since they reflect specific patient conditions. However, although many markers have been validated and confirmed using external cohorts of patients and different analytical approaches, no EV protein markers are approved for diagnostic use. This review presents the primary strategies adopted using mass spectrometry and immune-based techniques to identify and validate EV protein biomarkers. We report and discuss recent scientific research focusing on cancer biomarker discovery through EVs, emphasizing their significant potential for the tempestive diagnosis of several cancer typologies. Finally, recent advancements in the standardization of EV isolation and quantitation through the development of easy-to-use and high-throughput kits for sample preparation-that should make protein EV biomarkers more reliable and accessible-are presented. The data reported here showed that there are still several challenges to be addressed before a protein vesicle marker becomes an essential tool in diagnosing cancer.
细胞外囊泡 (EVs) 是癌症诊断早期生物标志物的有前途的来源。它们富含多种分子物质，如蛋白质、DNA、mRNA、miRNA、脂质和代谢物。EV 蛋白已被广泛研究作为潜在的生物标志物，因为它们反映了特定的患者状况。然而，尽管已经使用患者的外部队列和不同的分析方法验证和确认了许多标记物，但没有 EV 蛋白标记物被批准用于诊断用途。本综述介绍了使用质谱和免疫技术来鉴定和验证 EV 蛋白生物标志物的主要策略。我们报告并讨论了最近通过 EV 进行癌症生物标志物发现的科学研究，强调了它们在及时诊断多种癌症类型方面的巨大潜力。最后，介绍了通过开发易于使用和高通量的样品制备试剂盒来标准化 EV 分离和定量的最新进展——这应该使 EV 蛋白生物标志物更可靠和易于获取。这里报告的数据表明，在蛋白质囊泡标记物成为诊断癌症的重要工具之前，仍有几个挑战需要解决。
