Isolation of circulating exosomes and identification of exosomal PD-L1 for predicting immunotherapy response

Nanoscale. 2022 Jun 30;14(25):8995-9003. doi: 10.1039/d2nr00829g.

Abstract

Exosomes, a subgroup of extracellular vesicles secreted by multiple cells, have great potential as cancer biomarkers in clinical applications. However, enrichment and detection of exosomes from complex media remain a huge challenge due to their small size. Herein, we used iodixanol density gradient centrifugation for the isolation and purification of exosomes and label-free detection of exosomal PD-L1 using a biochip based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR-ExoPD-L1). The obtained exosomes are lipid-bilayer vesicles and the classical exosome markers CD9, CD63 and CD81 are highly enriched. Besides, PD-L1 is specifically expressed on exosomes instead of non-vesicular components or large extracellular vesicles. Compared with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, the SPR-ExoPD-L1 assay could better distinguish exosomes derived from melanoma cells with different levels of PD-L1. Accurate measurement of exosomal PD-L1 could provide critical clinical information for cancer diagnosis and personalized immunotherapy of cancer.

MeSH terms

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Exosomes*
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy
  • Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Neoplasms* / therapy

Substances

  • B7-H1 Antigen
  • Biomarkers, Tumor