Poster H5 - Detection of Exosomal Thomsen-Friedenreich Glycoantigen for Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Thursday, October 24, 2024

2:45 PM - 3:45 PM EST

Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Presenting Author(s)

EP

Erin Piegza (she/her/hers)

Student
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, New York, United States

Co-Author(s)

Yafei Su, BS

PhD student
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Buffalo, New York, United States
KR

Kate Rittenhouse-Olson

Professor Emeritus
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, United States
GD

Grace K Dy

Director, Thoracic Oncology, Professor of Oncology
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, United States

Primary Investigator(s)

Yun Wu, PhD (she/her/hers)

Professor
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Buffalo, New York, United States

Introduction: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for men in the US. Current methods of diagnosis include the digital rectal exam and the prostate-specific antigen test. However, these methods may lead to false positive or negative results and may not detect prostate cancer early to improve overall survival. Exosomes-based liquid biopsy may be a more accurate, non-invasive, and cost-effective diagnostic test to address these challenges.

Exosomes are nano-sized extracellular vesicles produced by cells to facilitate intercellular communication. They carry various biomolecules such as proteins and RNAs released by cancer cells. In this project, we detected exosomal Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (TF-Ag) as the biomarker for prostate cancer diagnosis. TF-Ag is a typically cryptic antigen that is aberrantly expressed in cancer cells and closely related to tumor growth, immune evasion, and metastasis. TF-Ag was reported to be upregulated in 80%-90% of human cancers including prostate cancer

Materials and

Methods: The Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technique was used to detect exosomal TF-Ag in serum samples from 34 prostate cancer patients (stage I-IV) and 14 normal controls. The SPR assay uses a compact SPR biosensor that is composed of a laser, a prism, and a gold coated biochip. Initially, the gold surface of the biochip is cleaned to ensure there are no contaminants on the chip. Then, the surface is modified with JAA-F11 antibodies, which can recognize and bind to exosomal TF-Ag in the serum sample. The SPR biosensor measures the levels of TF-Ag by measuring the change in the reflected laser intensity. When exosomal TF-Ag binds to the JAA-F11 antibody on the gold surface, it causes a change in surface plasmon mode, and thus an increase in the intensity of reflected laser light. The SPR biosensor provides a sensitive, accurate, and non-invasive tool for the early detection of prostate cancer in men.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: Exosomal TF-Ag expression was successfully detected in 10 uL serum samples using the SPR assay. Significantly higher levels of exosomal TF-Ag-α were observed in serum samples from prostate cancer patients (n=34, stage I-IV) than normal controls (n=14) (Figure 1). The averaged expression of exosomal TF-Ag in stage I prostate cancer (n=10) was 0.96, in stage II prostate cancer (n=10) was 1.12, in stage III prostate cancer (n=10) was 1.21, in stage IV prostate cancer (n=4) was 1.53, while in normal control was 0.10 (n=14). Exosomal TF-Ag detected prostate cancer with AUC of 1.0, sensitivity of 1.0 and specificity of 1.0 at cutoff value of 0.59. These results demonstrated the great potential of exosomal TF-Ag in prostate cancer diagnosis. In the future, we will further validate the diagnostic potential of exosomal TF-Ag in a larger cohort of prostate cancer patients and normal controls

Acknowledgements (Optional):