Preserving Liquid Biopsy Samples with a Glycoprotein
Circulating tumor cells, captured in microfluidic devices, die off in a few hours; so means of preserving them is a breakthrough for liquid biopsy diagnostics. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center Engineering in Medicine report: “a method to preserve whole blood in its minimally altered state by combining hypothermic preservation with targeted strategies that counter cooling-induced platelet activation. Using this method, whole blood preserved for up to 72 h can be readily processed for microfluidic sorting without compromising CTC yield and viability. The tumor cells retain high-quality intact RNA suitable for single-cell RT-qPCR as well as RNA-Seq, enabling the reliable detection of cancer-specific transcripts including the androgen-receptor splice variant 7 in a cohort of prostate cancer patients with an overall concordance of 92% between fresh and preserved blood. This work will serve as a springboard for the dissemination of diverse blood-based diagnostics.” MORE
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