Amplification-Free Detection of Gene Fusions in Prostate Cancer Urinary Samples Using mRNA-Gold Affinity Interactions.
A crucial issue in present-day prostate cancer (PCa) detection is the lack of specific biomarkers for accurately distinguishing between benign and malignant cancer forms. This is causing a high degree of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of otherwise clinically insignificant cases. As around half of all malignant PCa cases display a detectable gene fusion mutation between the TMPRSS2 promoter sequence and the ERG coding sequence (TMPRSS2:ERG) in urine, noninvasive screening of TMPRSS2:ERG mRNA in patient urine samples could improve the specificity of current PCa diagnosis. However, current gene fusion detection methodologies are largely dependent on RNA enzymatic amplification, which requires extensive sample manipulation, costly labels for detection, and is prone to bias/artifacts. Herein we introduce the first successful amplification-free electrochemical assay for direct detection of TMPRSS2:ERG mRNA in PCa urinary samples by selectively isolating and adsorbing TMPRSS2:ERG mRNA onto bare gold electrodes without requiring any surface modification. We demonstrated excellent limit-of-detection (10 cells) and specificity using PCa cell line models, and showcased clinical utility by accurately detecting TMPRSS2:ERG in a collection of 17 urinary samples obtained from PCa patients. Furthermore, these results were validated with the current gold standard reverse transcription (RT)-PCR approach with 100% concordance.
Centre for Personalized Nanomedicine, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Kevin M
KM
Koo
Centre for Personalized Nanomedicine, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Laura G
LG
Carrascosa
Centre for Personalized Nanomedicine, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Muhammad J A
MJ
Shiddiky
Centre for Personalized Nanomedicine, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.|School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland , Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Matt
M
Trau
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000652:urine*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry / Q000652:urine*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics; D000071230:Transcriptional Regulator ERG / Q000235:genetics
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C072312:ERG protein, human; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D000071230:Transcriptional Regulator ERG; D006046:Gold; D012697:Serine Endopeptidases; C421305:TMPRSS2 protein, human