Detection of plasma exosomal miRNA-205 as a biomarker for early diagnosis and an adjuvant indicator of ovarian cancer staging

Abstract

Background Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the serious threats to the health of women worldwide, and accurate biomarkers are urgently demanded for early diagnosis of OC. We have previously confirmed that miR-205 promotes the invasion and metastasis of OC cells by inhibiting the expression of the tumor suppressor gene TCF21. In this study, we used liquid biopsy technology to detect the expression levels of the four genes, miR-205, CA125, HE4 and TCF21, in the exosomes of plasma of OC patients. Combined with analysis of clinicopathological parameters of OC patients, we aimed to provide efficient and non-invasive laboratory biomarkers for early diagnosis of OC. Methods 36 OC patients who were diagnosed in local hospitals from September 2020 to July 2021 were selected as OC group, 31 cases of surgically diagnosed with ovarian benign lesions were selected as benign group, and 32 healthy people who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as a control group. We employed transmission electron microscope (TEM), Western blotting (WB), and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) to identify biomarkers in the exosomes extracted from plasma of the three groups. The RNA levels of miR-205, CA125, HE4 and TCF21 genes in plasma exosomes were detected by real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) method. We used clinical pathological parameters and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy for the genes detected in plasma exosomes. Results We found that the expression level of miR-205 in plasma exosomes of the OC group was significantly higher than that of the benign and control groups (P < 0.05), and the level of miR-205 was elevated during the III-IV periods of OC and lymph node metastasis. Conclusion The level of miR-205 in plasma exosomes is a valuable tumor biomarker to improve OC diagnosis.

“Silicon-On-Insulator”-Based Biosensor for the Detection of MicroRNA Markers of Ovarian Cancer

“…These authors have reported that with such a biosensor, target miRNA molecules were detectable at 10 −15 M concentration [ 59 ]. As discussed in Introduction, bioassay systems, which allow one to detect target biomolecules at 10 −13 M and lower concentrations, are in great demand for early diagnosis of diseases in humans [ 11 , 22 , 46 , 60 ]. Therefore, the approach proposed herein is undoubtedly a highly sensitive method, since it has been demonstrated experimentally that biospecific detection of biomolecules within the subfemtomolar (10 −16 M) concentration range is feasible.…”

The Progress of the Specific and Rapid Genetic Detection Methods for Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

“…The results demonstrate that it can be used as a target for early screening and prognostic assessment. 91 Similarly, Liu et al suggest that miR-4732-5p may be an early diagnostic marker for EOC. 92 Besides serving as diagnostic markers, EV-associated miRNAs and mRNAs are also closely related to diagnosis and prognostic assessment.…”

“…The specificity and sensitivity of CA125 and HE4 in serum exosomes for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer were 83.3% and 96.9%. 91 In addition, Liang et al proved that the protein characteristics of EOC-derived exosomes could help diagnose ovarian cancer. Moreover, the related proteins include EGFR, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), and ERBB (see Supplemental Table S2 for details).…”

Molecular Biomarkers for the Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer

“…The level of miR-205 has been reported to be elevated in cancer patients and has been shown to have the potential for distinguishing cancer patients from healthy people; miR-205 was shown to have an AUC of 0.715, a sensitivity of 66.7%, and a specificity of 78.1%. A combination detection panel using miR-205, CA125, and HE4 showed an increased AUC of 0.951 and a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 86.1%, respectively, and performed best in early detection [ 120 ].…”