Feasibility and safety of focused ultrasound-enabled liquid biopsy in the brain of a porcine model
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: Although blood-based liquid biopsy is a promising noninvasive technique to acquire a comprehensive molecular tumor profile by detecting cancer-specific biomarkers (e.g. DNA, RNA, and proteins), there has been limited progress for brain tumor application partially because the low permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) hinders the release of tumor biomarkers. We previously demonstrated focused ultrasound-enabled liquid biopsy (FUS-LBx) that uses FUS to increase BBB permeability in murine glioblastoma models and thus enhance the release of tumor-specific biomarkers into the bloodstream. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of FUS-LBx in the normal brain tissue of a porcine model. Increased BBB permeability was confirmed by the significant increase (p = 0.0053) in K trans (the transfer coefficient from blood to brain extravascular extracellular space) when comparing the FUS-sonicated brain area with the contralateral non-sonicated area. Meanwhile, there was a significant increase in the blood concentrations of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, p = 0.0074) and myelin basic protein (MBP, p = 0.0039) after FUS sonication as compared with before FUS. There was no detectable tissue damage by T 2 * -weighted MRI and histological analysis. Findings from this study suggest that FUS-LBx is a promising technique for noninvasive and localized diagnosis of the molecular profiles of brain diseases with the potential to translate to the clinic.
Source: Scientific Reports
Institution: Washington University in St. Louis
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,870
Funders: Washington University in St. Louis, National Institutes of Health, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Illinois at Chicago
Awards: G1252910802, FOCUS: FUNCTIONAL OPTICAL IMAGING FEEDBACK-CONTROLLED CELLULAR-LEVEL ULTRASOUND STIMULATION, Focused ultrasound-enabled brain tumor liquid biopsy, Washington University Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences, Interdisciplinary Training in Cognitive, Computational and Systems Neuroscience (CCSN), Focused ultrasound-mediated intranasal brain drug delivery technique (FUSIN)
OpenAlex ID: W3021349954