Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a groundbreaking method for diagnosing lung cancer using a blood test. This new approach is ten times faster and fourteen times more sensitive than previous techniques. The innovative microchip created at U-M extracts exosomes from blood plasma to detect indicators of lung cancer.
Previously considered cellular waste, exosomes have been revealed over the past decade to be essential communication vehicles, containing proteins, DNA, and RNA fragments. While exosomes from healthy cells transmit critical signals throughout the body, those from cancer cells can promote tumor metastasis by preparing distant tissues to support cancer growth.
"Cancer exosomes depart from the tumor's microenvironment and essentially prepare the landscape. Later, cancer cells are released, travel through the bloodstream, and are able to plant roots in this preconditioned environment," explained Sunitha Nagrath, U-M professor of chemical and biomedical engineering and co-author of the study published in the journal Matter.
Exosomes exhibit proteins both inside and on their outer surface. These surface proteins are chiral, meaning they possess a specific twist—either right- or left-handed—that allows them to interact with light in distinctive ways.
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