Heavy! Liu Dingbin/Xu Chen of Nankai University discovered novel biomarkers that can be used as non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer

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Written by Sophia

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies and is usually detected
late in the clinic.
Due to the lack of reliable biomarkers, currently available colorectal cancer diagnostic tools are either invasive or insensitive
to early lesions.

In this study, we found that extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the feces of colorectal cancer patients can serve as effective biomarkers for the non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer
.
This finding is based on the recognition of fecal-derived EVs (fEVs) by two transmembrane proteins, CD 147 and A33, which are intrinsically associated
with CRC.
The paper was recently published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles
.

https://onlinelibrary.
wiley.
com/doi/full/10.
1002/jev2.
12300

Research background

 01 

At present, colonoscopy is the gold standard for colorectal cancer diagnosis and has been widely used for colorectal cancer screening
.
However, colonoscopy diagnosis is highly invasive, resulting in poor
compliance among the participant participants.
In addition, the accuracy of colonoscopy diagnosis depends largely on the proficiency and experience
of the operator.
Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a well-established serum marker used to clinically diagnose CRC, monitor treatment, and identify recurrence
.

However, its sensitivity and specificity remain limited, as CEA levels are also upregulated
in other malignancies such as breast, lung, and gastric cancers.
The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) and the multi-target fecal DNA (mstDNA) test, which detect DNA mutations in hemoglobin and stool samples, respectively, represent two typical non-invasive methods
of CRC screening.
However, they often produce false-positive results
caused by other diseases.
In order for stool samples to be available for the diagnosis of CRC, there is an urgent need to discover new biomarkers with high clinical sensitivity and
specificity.

Research progress

 02 

A prerequisite for the use of fEVs for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer is the identification of appropriate fEVs biomarkers
.
Therefore, we performed the screening
by combining bioinformatics with high-throughput protein detection technology.

First, we used bioinformatics to screen colorectal cancer-associated proteins
studied in previous reports.
These proteins were then screened using the UniProt database to select transmembrane proteins, followed by the ExoCarta database to assess their presence
on EVs.
Next, we performed western blot analysis to analyze the expression
of these protein biomarker candidates on the fEVs membrane.
The results confirmed that CD147 and A33 on fEVs were only found in the colorectal cancer group, indicating that they have high potential
as biomarkers for colorectal cancer diagnosis.
Finally, immunofluorescence staining was used to determine whether CD147 and A33 were present
in colorectal cancer tissue.
The study found that CD147 and A33 fluorescence intensities in colorectal cancer tissues were much higher than in neighboring healthy tissues
.
This result shows that colorectal cancer tissue expresses CD147 and A33 at higher levels than adjacent tissue, bridging the gap
between fEVs and colorectal cancer.

Screening of candidate biomarkers and confirmation of CD147 and A33 on fEVs and tissues

Research significance

 03 

In conclusion, the study shows that fEVs can be used as new biomarkers for colorectal cancer diagnosis and prognosis, with high clinical sensitivity and sensitivity, providing new opportunities
for large-scale colorectal cancer screening in a completely non-invasive manner.
This discovery fills the gap between EVs and clinical diagnosis and will promote the application of fEVs in basic research and clinical diagnosis of
CRC.

Resources:

https://onlinelibrary.
wiley.
com/doi/full/10.
1002/jev2.
12300

Note: This article is intended to introduce the progress of medical research and cannot be used as a reference
for treatment options.
If you need health guidance, please go to a regular hospital
.

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