Using Blood Plasma-derived Extracellular Vesicles as a Predictive Tool for Breast Cancer Therapy

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous cell membrane-derived and cargo-bearing structures that are subcategorized as exosomes, microvesicles, or apoptotic bodies (1). Their presence in body fluids and roles in intercellular communication have made EVs the focus of great excitement as disease biomarkers or therapeutic indicators. However, attaining sufficient purity of particular EV populations has impeded their characterization and potential use in both basic research and clinical settings (2).

A recent study by Alvarez et al. describes the use of particle purification liquid chromatography (PPLC) as an effective methodology to isolate EVs from the blood plasma of breast cancer patients. The authors were able to characterize the differences between blood plasma-derived EVs (BEVs) from eventual responders (R) and non-responders (NR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Global protein profiling of the respective BEV populations indicated that GP1BA (CD42b), PECAM-1 (CD31), CAPN1, HSPB1 (HSP27) and ANXA5 are enriched in NR BEVs (3). Functional studies on breast cancer cell lines revealed increased metabolic activity after exposure to either BEV isolate, though this effect was enhanced with NR BEVs. In addition to further supporting the efficacy of PPLC for meaningful EV research, the work by Alvarez et al. identifies BEV analysis as a potentially revolutionary clinical tool for identifying breast cancer patients who may not benefit from NAC.

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