Thermophoretic glycan profiling of extracellular vesicles for triple-negative breast cancer management

Yike Li; Shaohua Zhang; Chao Liu; Jinqi Deng; Fei Tian; Qiang Feng; Lili Qin; Lixiao Bai; Ting Fu; Liqin Zhang; Yuguang Wang; Jiashu Sun

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-46557-5

Thermophoretic glycan profiling of extracellular vesicles for triple-negative breast cancer management

Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 14;15(1):2292. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46557-5.

Authors

Yike Li^#^{1

2}, Shaohua Zhang^#³, Chao Liu^{4

5}, Jinqi Deng^{1

6}, Fei Tian^{1

6}, Qiang Feng¹, Lili Qin³, Lixiao Bai³, Ting Fu^{7

8}, Liqin Zhang⁹, Yuguang Wang¹⁰, Jiashu Sun^{11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Engineering Research Center for BioNanotechnology, CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
³ Department of Oncology, the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100071, China.
⁴ Beijing Engineering Research Center for BioNanotechnology, CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China. liuc@nanoctr.cn.
⁵ School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. liuc@nanoctr.cn.
⁶ School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
⁷ Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory of Zhejiang Province for Aptamers and Theranostics, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310022, China.
⁸ Jiangsu Union Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhongdi Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211500, China.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China. lqzhang@hsc.pku.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Department of General Dentistry II, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & National Engineering Research Center of Oral Biomaterials and Digital Medical Devices, Beijing, 100081, China. wangyuguang@bjmu.edu.cn.
¹¹ Beijing Engineering Research Center for BioNanotechnology, CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China. sunjs@nanoctr.cn.
¹² School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China. sunjs@nanoctr.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly metastatic and heterogeneous type of breast cancer with poor outcomes. Precise, non-invasive methods for diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of TNBC are particularly challenging due to a paucity of TNBC biomarkers. Glycans on extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold the promise as valuable biomarkers, but conventional methods for glycan analysis are not feasible in clinical practice. Here, we report that a lectin-based thermophoretic assay (EVLET) streamlines vibrating membrane filtration (VMF) and thermophoretic amplification, allowing for rapid, sensitive, selective and cost-effective EV glycan profiling in TNBC plasma. A pilot cohort study shows that the EV glycan signature reaches 91% accuracy for TNBC detection and 96% accuracy for longitudinal monitoring of TNBC therapeutic response. Moreover, we demonstrate the potential of EV glycan signature for predicting TNBC progression. Our EVLET system lays the foundation for non-invasive cancer management by EV glycans.

MeSH terms

Biomarkers, Tumor
Extracellular Vesicles* / pathology
Humans
Pilot Projects
Polysaccharides
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms* / therapy

Substances

Biomarkers, Tumor
Polysaccharides