Image: Researchers have discovered a new class of RNA in blood nanoparticles (photo courtesy of the lab of Navneet Dogra, PhD, Icahn Mount Sinai)
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and exosomes, tiny nanoparticles about 1,000 times smaller than a human hair, are secreted by all cells into biofluids such as blood and urine. These particles are known to safely transport genetic material throughout the body. Researchers have now discovered a new class of RNA within EVs that could transform the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases. This team found that these RNAs change in the presence of cancer, indicating their potential as biomarkers for diseases such as prostate cancer or as therapeutic targets.
The research group at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, NY, USA) has named these RNAs “EV-UGRs” (Extracellular Vesicle-Associated Unannotated Genomic Regions), after their identification in the blood and urine of prostate cancer patients. UGRs, often described as the “dark matter” of the genome, play a key role in gene regulation and protein synthesis. The team had previously discovered that EVs carried these previously unrecognized small segments of RNA. Their latest study aimed to assess the utility of EV-UGRs in disease monitoring by observing prostate cancer patients before and after surgical treatment, finding significant changes in EV-UGR RNA levels after surgery. This research, detailed in a paper published online August 15 in the Journal of Extracellular Vesiclesmarks the first in-depth examination of these “dark matter” RNA molecules in prostate cancer.
In their study, the researchers employed state-of-the-art small RNA sequencing to rapidly analyze human tissues and fluids. They also developed an inexpensive liquid biopsy test and techniques to isolate tiny EVs from blood and urine. Additionally, they created a computational process to identify these new types of RNA. The discovery of EV-UGR could lead to advances in noninvasive diagnostics not only for prostate cancer, but potentially for a variety of other conditions as well. The next phase involves rigorous randomized clinical trials to further validate this innovative approach and evaluate its broader application to ensure its efficacy.
“Our findings indicate that EV-UGRs in the blood undergo changes in the presence of cancer, suggesting a less invasive approach to diagnosing prostate cancer through simple liquid biopsies, potentially eliminating the need for more complex, painful and infection-prone biopsy procedures,” said Navneet Dogra, PhD, assistant professor of Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Medicine, and a member of the Icahn Genomics Institute, who led the study.
“This is a significant and timely achievement. The potential impact of this research is enormous and promises a future in which diagnosis of diseases such as prostate cancer can be performed rapidly and less invasively,” added Carlos Cordon-Cardo, MD, PhD, co-author, the Irene Heinz Given and John LaPorte Given Professor of Pathology and Chair of the Department of Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai. “This breakthrough could revolutionize care by reducing the time and discomfort associated with current diagnostic procedures, potentially leading to earlier detection and more effective treatment strategies, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.”
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