This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: An electrical fingerprint found on tiny particles in the blood may help detect signs of pancreatic cancer that are often overlooked, according to new research from Rice University. The researchers developed a device that separates these particles based on their electrical charge, making cancer-associated signals more visible.
This approach could provide a new method for studying a cancer that is frequently diagnosed after it has already spread, with a five-year survival rate of only 13%. The findings were published Sept. 1 in the journal ACS Nano. "The bloodstream is an incredibly crowded environment, so the challenge is not simply finding tiny particles but identifying the ones that carry meaningful information," said Kshipra Kapoor, the study's co-lead author and a Rice electrical and computer engineering doctoral alumna.
"Our results show that electrical charge gives us another way to sort through that noise and bring a cancer-associated signal into view." Cells release tiny packages called extracellular vesicles (EVs) into the bloodstream. These particles can contain material from the cells that created them, including cancer cells. However, finding tumor-derived EVs in blood can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, Kapoor said, because they are mixed among a much larger population of EVs released by healthy tissues.
The researchers aimed to determine whether pancreatic cancer leaves a distinct physical mark on these EVs. They focused on the KRAS gene, which acts as a switch for cell growth. When KRAS is mutated, this switch can become stuck in the "on" position, allowing uncontrolled cell growth.
Mutations in KRAS are a major factor in pancreatic cancer. The research team discovered that activating mutant KRAS caused pancreatic cancer cells to release more EVs, which also exhibited a stronger negative electrical charge. The presence of DNA and other materials on the outer surface contributed to this electrical signature.
"Pancreatic cancer appears to leave an electrical fingerprint on the tiny packages that cells send into the bloodstream," Kapoor said. "That fingerprint could give us a new way to pick out cancer-related EVs that would otherwise be lost in the crowd." The researchers designed a small device that uses electricity to separate EVs based on their charge. This microfluidic electrophoresis device moves minute amounts of blood serum through narrow channels, allowing for the collection of EVs with a stronger negative charge.
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