Abstract

Using Molecular Beacons for Extracellular Vesicles and CTC-based Cancer Detection

James Lee, Helen C. Kurez Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Given their role in fundamental tumor biology, circulating non-coding RNAs and coding RNAs have emerged as potential biomarkers for cancer detection. Extracellular RNAs have been found to be stable in blood and other bodily fluids, partially attributable to their encapsulation within cell-secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs). The current method for EV analysis uses either PCR, next generation sequencing and/or hybridization microarray to identify the presence of RNA targets. These technologies involve breaking open all EVs in the sample to mix their contents, so they can only provide averaged information. Since EVs come from multiple cell sources, RNA targets of cancer cells derived EVs are diluted in these analyses. We have developed facile and inexpensive biochip technologies to detect target RNA using advanced molecular beacons designs and nanoparticles. These biochips technologies have been successfully applied to various cancer diagnosis in liquid biopsy. The molecular beacons can also be used to detect RNA targets in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in blood.