Identification of Biomarker Hyaluronan on Colon Cancer Extracellular Vesicles Using Correlative AFM and Spectroscopy

J Phys Chem Lett. 2020 Jul 16;11(14):5569-5576. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c01018. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), naturally occurring nanosized vesicles secreted from cells, are essential for intercellular communication. They carry unique biomolecules on the surface or interior that are of great interest as biomarkers for various pathological conditions such as cancer. In this work, we use high-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) and spectroscopy (AFS) techniques to demonstrate differences between EVs derived from colon cancer cells and colon epithelial cells at the single-vesicle level. We observe that EV populations are significantly increased in the cancer cell media compared to the normal cell EVs. We show that both EVs display an EV marker, CD9, while EVs derived from the cancer cells are slightly higher in density. Hyaluronan (HA) is a nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan linked to malignant tumor growth according to recent reports. Interestingly, at the single-vesicle level, colon cancer EVs exhibit significantly increased HA surface densities compared to the normal EVs. Spectroscopic measurements such as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), circular dichroism (CD), and Raman spectroscopy unequivocally support the AFM and AFS measurements. To our knowledge, it represents the first report of detecting HA-coated EVs as a potential colon cancer biomarker. Taken together, this sensitive approach will be useful in identifying biomarkers in the early stages of detection and evaluation of cancer.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Colonic Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Colonic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism
  • Extracellular Vesicles / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Hyaluronic Acid / analysis*
  • Hyaluronic Acid / metabolism
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Spectrophotometry, Atomic
  • Tetraspanin 29 / analysis

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • CD9 protein, human
  • Tetraspanin 29
  • Hyaluronic Acid