Characterization of plasma circulating small extracellular vesicles in patients with metastatic solid tumors and newly diagnosed brain metastasis

ABSTRACT: Brain metastases are critical for outcomes and quality of life in almost 50% of oncological patients, generally associated with a poor short-term prognosis. Early or preventive diagnosis of this complication represents an unmet need. There is a necessity of discovering new biomarkers that could aid to predict disease outcome. In this study, we analyzed plasma circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) from a cohort of 92 patients with different solid tumors (lung, breast, kidney cancer and melanoma) and found that newly diagnosed patients with brain metastases presented lower number of circulating particles and a higher protein concentration in small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) compared to patients without brain metastases and healthy controls. Out of all groups analyzed, melanoma patients with brain metastases presented decreased STAT3 activation and increased PD-L1 levels in circulating sEVs compared to patients without central nervous system metastases. The data presented in this work suggest that circulating sEVs may represent the immunosuppressive status of newly diagnosed brain metastases characterized by the reduced phospho-STAT3 (pSTAT3) and increased PD-L1, although the origin of these molecules found in circulating sEVs remains to be uncovered.

INSTRUMENT(S): Q Exactive Plus

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (human)

TISSUE(S): Blood Plasma

DISEASE(S): Melanoma

SUBMITTER: Pilar Ximenez-Embun  

LAB HEAD: Pilar Ximénez-Embún

PROVIDER: PXD032767 | Pride | 2022-05-08

REPOSITORIES: Pride