Potential method as a promising tool for simple and early diagnosis of cancer from liquid biopsy with low concentration of biomarkers.
After the sample is taken, the blood is analyzed for specific markers that indicate the presence of cancerous tissue. photo shutterstock.
Liquid biopsy, the sampling of non-solid biological tissue such as blood, is gaining interest as a rapid, non-invasive method of diagnosing cancer.
Unlike traditional biopsy, which requires surgery and often general anesthesia, liquid blood biopsy requires only a few milliliters of blood with minimal harm to the patient.
At Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (Japan), a new method has been developed for miRNA pattern detection Carcinogens based on DNA computer technology. The method has shown its potential as a promising tool for simple and early diagnosis of cancer from liquid biopsy with low concentration of biomarkers.
Cholangiocarcinoma, also known as bile duct cancer, is a type of cancer with a particularly high mortality rate. At the time of diagnosis, most bile duct cancers are usually incurable.
so they are urgently needed Methods for early diagnosis From cancer of the bile duct. After the sample is taken, the blood is analyzed for specific markers that indicate the presence of cancerous tissue.
For example, specific microRNA pattern (miRNA), short non-coding RNA strands, are associated with a variety of cancers and can be used with great accuracy to diagnose cancer with liquid biopsy. Even then, low concentration of miRNA It becomes difficult to detect it in blood samples.
“Counting of DNA uses biochemical reactions DNA molecules that encode information are needed to solve problems based on formal logic. same as computer General. In this case, we have designed a clinical DNA molecule Able to bind to five different types of miRNAs associated with bile duct cancer. In the process of binding to miRNA molecules, diagnostic DNA converts the expression patterns of miRNAs into information contained in Acid Structure Form nucleic,” explains Ryuji Kawano, one of the people responsible for the research, which has been published in the scientific journal JACCS AU.
Scientist to read this information a. make use of method called nanopore decoding, In this method, the DNA passes through a nanometer-sized hole or “pore”.
As the molecule passes through the hole, it obstructs the flow of electric current through the hole. These perturbations of the current through the pore can be measured and used to deduce the properties of the passing molecule.
In the case of diagnostic DNA, bound miRNAs will “snap off” the DNA, resulting in a current inhibition of the characteristic amplitude and duration.
By statistical analysis of the miRNA pattern decompression data, the scientists were able to identify cancer-specific expression patterns even from clinical samples with extremely low miRNA concentrations.
This is a significant improvement in the field of nanopore diagnostics, as nanopore measurement is generally considered to be unable to detect nucleic acids at such low levels, which has reduced the technology’s use in clinical applications.
Source consulted here.
