Lectins as potential tools for cancer biomarker discovery from extracellular vesicles

Md Khirul Islam; Misba Khan; Kamlesh Gidwani; Kenneth W Witwer; Urpo Lamminmäki; Janne Leivo

doi:10.1186/s40364-023-00520-6

Lectins as potential tools for cancer biomarker discovery from extracellular vesicles

Biomark Res. 2023 Sep 29;11(1):85. doi: 10.1186/s40364-023-00520-6.

Authors

Md Khirul Islam^{1

2}, Misba Khan³, Kamlesh Gidwani³, Kenneth W Witwer^{4

5}, Urpo Lamminmäki^{3

6}, Janne Leivo^{3

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Technologies, Division of Biotechnology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20014, Turku, Finland. mdKhis@utu.fi.
² InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. mdKhis@utu.fi.
³ Department of Life Technologies, Division of Biotechnology, University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20014, Turku, Finland.
⁴ Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
⁶ InFLAMES Research Flagship Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have considerable potential as diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic agents, in large part because molecular patterns on the EV surface betray the cell of origin and may also be used to "target" EVs to specific cells. Cancer is associated with alterations to cellular and EV glycosylation patterns, and the surface of EVs is enriched with glycan moieties. Glycoconjugates of EVs play versatile roles in cancer including modulating immune response, affecting tumor cell behavior and site of metastasis and as such, paving the way for the development of innovative diagnostic tools and novel therapies. Entities that recognize specific glycans, such as lectins, may thus be powerful tools to discover and detect novel cancer biomarkers. Indeed, the past decade has seen a constant increase in the number of published articles on lectin-based strategies for the detection of EV glycans. This review explores the roles of EV glycosylation in cancer and cancer-related applications. Furthermore, this review summarizes the potential of lectins and lectin-based methods for screening, targeting, separation, and possible identification of improved biomarkers from the surface of EVs.

Keywords: Cancer biomarker; Extracellular vesicles; Glycan; Glycosylation; Lectin; Lectin assay.

Publication types

Review