Journal Club

Simple blood test could one day diagnose motor neurone disease

This blog originated as a press release from the University of Sussex. Thanks to them for allowing us to repost it here.

Scientists at the University of Sussex have identified a potential pattern within blood which signals the presence of motor neuron disease; a discovery which could significantly improve diagnosis.

Currently, it can take up to a year for a patient to be diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as motor neuron disease (MND).

But after comparing blood samples from patients with ALS, those with other motor-related neurological diseases, and healthy patients, researchers were able to identify specific biomarkers which act as a diagnostic signature for the disease.

07.06.20 by Adelaida Sarukhan

Extracellular vesicles play an important role in the pathology of Plasmodium vivax malaria

This blog originated as a press release from ISGlobal, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. Thanks to ISGlobal for permission to post it here.

A new study shows that extracellular vesicles from the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax promote parasite adhesion to spleen cells

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in the pathogenesis of malaria vivax, according to a study led by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The findings, published in Nature Communications, indicate that EVs from P. vivax patients communicate with spleen fibroblasts promoting the adhesion of parasite-infected red blood cells. These data provide important insights into the pathology of vivax malaria. The study was carried out at the Can Ruti Campus, with the participation of the IGTP Genomics platform, the Nephrology service of the Germans Trias i Pujos Hospital, and researchers from the Irsicaixa AIDS Research Institute.

04.03.20 by Liezel Labios

Discovery of new biomarker in blood could lead to early test for Alzheimer’s disease

This blog originated as a press release from UCSD News.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego discovered that high blood levels of RNA produced by the PHGDH gene could serve as a biomarker for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. The work could lead to the development of a blood test to identify individuals who will develop the disease years before they show symptoms.

The team published their findings in Current Biology.

The PHGDH gene produces RNA and proteins that are critical for brain development and function in infants, children, and adolescents. As people get older, the gene typically ramps down its production of these RNAs and proteins. The new study, led by Sheng Zhong, a professor of bioengineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering in collaboration with Dr. Edward Koo, a professor of neuroscience at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, suggests that overproduction of extracellular RNA (exRNA) by the PHGDH gene in the elderly could provide an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease.

“Several known changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease usually show up around the time of clinical diagnosis, which is a little too late. We had a hunch that there is a molecular predictor that would show up years before, and that’s what motivated this study,” Zhong said.

02.12.20 by Rossella Crescitelli

Extracellular vesicles in tumor tissue

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) regulate many processes in the healthy body. They also play a role in cancer, sending signals between cells in the tumor microenvironment. EVs can stimulate tumor cell migration, invasion, blood vessel growth, immune response, and cell survival, as well as metastasis. However, we know little about the cargo of these EVs that play such diverse roles. Analysis of vesicle cargo can shed light on the molecular mechanisms of vesicle biology and be helpful in disease diagnosis and prognosis.

I am lucky to be a member in Jan Lötvall’s lab in Gothenburg, Sweden, which pioneered the field of extracellular vesicles with the early discovery of exosomes shuttling RNA between cells. An exciting collaboration with Yong Song Gho from POSTECH in South Korea led us to develop a new approach to isolate vesicles from human tumor tissues. Using this technology, we were able to isolate and characterize subpopulations of extracellular vesicles from melanoma metastatic tissue. We just published our findings in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles. Jan Lötvall also discussed them in a recent ERCC webinar.

02.04.20 by Roger Alexander

MIFlowCyt-EV framework for reporting EV flow cytometry experiments published

Flow cytometry (FC) is a powerful method for counting single cells and measuring their molecular components. There is increasing interest in applying flow cytometry to the analysis of extracellular vesicles (EV), but EVs are orders of magnitude smaller than the cells for which FC instruments and protocols were originally designed. To catalyze the development of new instruments and assays for EV flow cytometry, three scientific societies came together to form the EV Flow Cytometry Working Group (evflowcytometry.org):

ISEV, the International Society of Extracellular Vesicles
ISAC, the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry, and
ISTH, the International Society for Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

The working group first performed two standardization studies, distributing standards and samples to EV-FC laboratories worldwide to enable an objective comparison of methods, instruments, controls, and analytical tools. Those initial studies led to the realization that a standard framework for reporting experimental results is essential.

01.06.20 by Liz Ahlberg Touchstone

Single-molecule detection of miRNA cancer markers brings liquid biopsy closer to clinic

Illinois researchers developed a method to detect microRNA cancer markers with single-molecule resolution, a technique that could be used for liquid biopsies.

From left: Taylor Canady, postdoctoral scholar; Andrew Smith, professor of bioengineering; Nantao Li, graduate student; Lucas Smith, postdoctoral scholar; and Brian Cunningham – professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; director of Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory.
Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

Thanks to the University of Illinois News Bureau for allowing us to share this article here.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A fast, inexpensive yet sensitive technique to detect cancer markers is bringing researchers closer to a liquid biopsy – a test using a small sample of blood or serum to detect cancer, rather than the invasive tissue sampling routinely used for diagnosis.

Researchers at the University of Illinois developed a method to capture and count cancer-associated microRNAs, or tiny bits of messenger molecules that are exuded from cells and can be detected in blood or serum, with single-molecule resolution. The team published its results in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

12.13.19 by The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics

Saliva test shows promise for earlier and easier detection of mouth and throat cancer

Thanks to Eileen Leahy from Elsevier and Chhavi Chauhan, Director of Scientific Outreach for the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, for sharing this post here.

A novel non-invasive technique may detect human papilloma virus-16, the strain associated with oropharyngeal cancer, in saliva samples, reports The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

Philadelphia, December 13, 2019 – Unfortunately, cancers that occur in the back of the mouth and upper throat are often not diagnosed until they become advanced, partly because their location makes them difficult to see during routine clinical exams. A report in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, published by Elsevier, describes the use of acoustofluidics, a new non-invasive method that analyzes saliva for the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV)-16, the pathogenic strain associated with oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs). This novel technique detected OPC in whole saliva in 40 percent of patients tested and 80 percent of co published by Elsevier, describes the use of acoustofluidics, a new non-invasive method that analyzes saliva for the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV)-16, the pathogenic strain associated with oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs). This novel technique detected OPC in whole saliva in 40 percent of patients tested and 80 percent of confirmed OPC patients.

“OPC has an approximate incidence of 115,000 cases per year worldwide and is one of the fastest-rising cancers in Western countries due to increasing HPV-related incidence, especially in younger patients. It is paramount that surveillance methods are developed to improve early detection and outcomes,” explained co-lead investigator Tony Jun Huang, PhD, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.

“Considering these factors, the successful detection of HPV from salivary exosomes isolated by our acoustofluidic platform offers distinct advantages, including early detection, risk assessment, and screening,” added Dr. Huang. This technique may also help physicians predict which patients will respond well to radiation therapy or achieve longer progression-free survival.

12.02.19 by Leonora Balaj

Single EV characterization from the plasma of glioma patients undergoing fluorescence-guided surgery

Malignant gliomas are highly aggressive brain tumors. Surgical removal and chemoradiation of the tumor are the standard of care. Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a compound called 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) as an imaging agent to aid in differentiating tumor from normal tissue during surgery. 5-ALA is a precursor in the heme biosynthesis pathway, which is inefficient in glioma cells because their strongly rewired metabolism does not rely on heme. When patients with malignant glioma ingest 5-ALA prior to surgery, the glioma cells fluoresce pink under a blue light due to their preferential uptake and conversion of 5-ALA to the final precursor in heme biosynthesis, the fluorescent molecule protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). We sought to investigate whether extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from PpIX-enriched glioma cells would fluoresce and be detectable in the blood of these patients.

10.03.19 by Pranav Sharma

Harnessing exosomes as a therapeutic for Rett syndrome

This blog was first published on the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT) website. Thanks to Pranav Sharma and the Cline lab at Scripps Research for allowing us to share it here.

I am a scientist at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California working in the lab of Professor Hollis Cline. A thirst for knowledge is what originally attracted me to science. The potential to contribute, even in a small way, to alleviating suffering drives that thirst and passion even more.

Human biology has always fascinated me. Imagine for a moment how the human body is created. It starts with a single cell that multiplies to create a complex organism of trillions of cells. The human brain alone is estimated to contain more than 150 billion cells, 86 billion neurons and about an equal number of non-neuronal cells, all of a wide variety of specializations. It is mind boggling to imagine that a few founder cells contain the programming information that, through a series of cell fate decisions, produces a complex organ like the brain. What kind of communication and logistics are required to orchestrate the development and function of this behemoth?

09.11.19 by Stephanie Allen

Aggressive brain tumour could be diagnosed with simple blood test

This blog originated as a press release from the University of Sussex.

New research by scientists at the University of Sussex could be the first step towards developing a blood test to diagnose the most aggressive type of brain tumour, known as Glioblastoma.

A team from Professor Georgios Giamas’ lab at the University of Sussex has identified novel biomarkers within bodily fluids, which signal the presence of the tumour. Dr. Giamas is Professor of Cancer Cell Signalling in the School of Life Sciences.

Cancer biomarkers are molecules that are either exclusively found or over-expressed in cancer cells, as compared to ‘normal’, healthy cells. Biomarkers can be considered as biological signatures for a disease, as they indicate the presence of cancer in the body.

In a new paper published in the Nature journal Communications Biology, Professor Giamas and his team describe particular biomarkers that are associated with extracellular vesicles – small ’packages’ released by cells into bodily fluids so cells can communicate with each other.