A gathering driven by scientists at Nagoya College in Japan has fostered an innovation to catch and deliver sans-cell DNA (cfDNA) on nanowire surfaces from pee. They were successful in detecting the IDH1 mutation, a typical genetic mutation found in gliomas, a type of brain tumor, by extracting this DNA. Their findings boost the efficiency of urine-based cancer detection tests. Their findings were published in the scientific journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics.
Brain tumors are frequently examined only after symptoms like limb paralysis appear. However, even when they are found, their advanced stages frequently make surgical removal challenging. Gliomas are among the most deadly of these tumors. The median survival time for these tumors ranges from 12 to 18 months. As a result, prompt detection is essential for the patient’s survival.
These urine samples could be used effectively to look for evidence of brain tumors because many patients have routine physicals in which they give samples of their urine. The presence of cfDNA, which are small DNA particles released as the tumor rejuvenates its cells and eliminates old, damaged ones, is one feature of brain tumors. Normally, macrophages get rid of the cfDNA in the host, but cancer cells divide so quickly that there is a lot of cfDNA left over that goes into the urine.
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the detection of these cells as a non-invasive method for cancer screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer progression and treatment response,”
Professor Takao Yasui, a member of the research group,
Professor Takao Yasui, a member of the research group, stated, “The detection of these cells as a non-invasive way to check for cancer has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for cancer screening, diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer progression and treatment response.” However, as the excreted cfDNA may be short, fragmented, and of low concentration, the lack of methods to effectively isolate cfDNA from urine is a major obstacle.”
To beat this issue, a group comprising of Teacher Takao Yasui, Teacher Yoshinobu Baba, and Scientist Hiromi Takahashi from the Master’s level college of Designing, alongside Teacher Atsushi Natsume from the Foundations of Development for Future Society, Nagoya College, in a joint effort with Teacher Takeshi Yanagida from the College of Tokyo, and Academic Partner Sakon Rahong from Lord Mongkut’s Organization of Innovation Ladkrabang, Thailand, utilized a catch-and-delivery technique on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire surfaces to catch cfDNA and extracellular vesicles from gliomas.
ZnO was chosen due to its ability to attract water molecules to its surface. The hydrogen bonds between these water molecules and any cfDNA in the urine sample are then formed. After that, the cfDNA that was bonded can be washed out, allowing researchers to isolate specks of it from a sample.
“Their method was a complete success.” Yasui stated, “We were able to successfully isolate urinary cfDNA, which was extremely challenging with conventional methods.” In a past trial, we showed that our nanowire could catch malignant growth extracellular vesicles, which we found in this example as well. The surprising thing was that the same method was used to capture cfDNA. At the point when we extricated the cfDNA, we identified the IDH1 transformation, which is a trademark hereditary change tracked down in gliomas. We were excited about this because it was the first report of the IDH1 mutation being found in urine samples as small as 0.5 milliliters.
“This research provides a state-of-the-art method for the clinical use of urinary cfDNA, especially as an analytical tool to facilitate the early diagnosis of cancer,” Yasui stated. “This research overcomes the shortcomings of currently used methods by using chemical, biological, medical, and nanotechnological techniques.” Even though we tested gliomas, this method opens up new options for finding mutations in tumors. Our method can easily be applied to other types of tumors, particularly those that cannot be isolated by conventional methods, if we know the type of mutation to look for.
More information: Hiromi Takahashi et al, Mutation detection of urinary cell-free DNA via catch-and-release isolation on nanowires for liquid biopsy, Biosensors and Bioelectronics (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115318
