Quantification of plasma exosome is a potential prognostic marker for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
Exosomes play important roles in cancer progression. Although its contents (e.g., proteins and microRNAs) have been focused on in cancer research, particularly as potential diagnostic markers, the exosome behavior and methods for exosome quantification remain unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the tumor-derived exosome behavior and assessed the quantification of exosomes in patient plasma as a biomarker for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A CD63-GFP expressing human ESCC cell line (TE2-CD63-GFP) was made by transfection, and mouse subcutaneous tumor models were established. Fluorescence imaging was performed on tumors and plasma exosomes harvested from mice. GFP-positive small vesicles were confirmed in the plasma obtained from TE2-CD63-GFP tumor-bearing mice. Patient plasma was collected in Chiba University Hospital (n=86). Exosomes were extracted from 100 µl of the plasma and quantified by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. The relationship between exosome quantification and the patient clinical characteristics was assessed. The quantification of exosomes isolated from the patient plasma revealed that esophageal cancer patients (n=66) expressed higher exosome levels than non-malignant patients (n=20) (P=0.0002). Although there was no correlation between the tumor progression and the exosome levels, exosome number was the independent prognostic marker and low levels of exosome predicted a poor prognosis (P=0.03). In conclusion, exosome levels may be useful as an independent prognostic factor for ESCC patients.
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Yasunori
Y
Matsumoto
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Masayuki
M
Kano
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Yasunori
Y
Akutsu
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Naoyuki
N
Hanari
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Isamu
I
Hoshino
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Kentaro
K
Murakami
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Akihiro
A
Usui
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Hiroshi
H
Suito
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Masahiko
M
Takahashi
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Ryota
R
Otsuka
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Hu
H
Xin
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Aki
A
Komatsu
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Keiko
K
Iida
Department of Frontier Surgery, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba 260-8670, Japan.
Hisahiro
H
Matsubara
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D055354:Exosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000097:blood; D011379:Prognosis; D060149:Tetraspanin 30 / Q000097:blood
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C554586:CD63 protein, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D060149:Tetraspanin 30; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins