A clinical biomarker is a measurable characteristic indicative of normal biological processes and responses to therapeutic intervention, which is critical to drug development, diagnostics, and clinical research [1]. Emerging biomarker solutions apply the use of exosomes to clinical applications due to their role in the immune system and blood-brain barrier, as well as their clinical significance as a potential drug vehicle. This blog post will briefly outline exosomes and their clinical significance, emphasizing their role as potential disease biomarkers. This piece will also provide a brief overview of biomarker solutions when applying exosomes to clinical research.
What are Exosomes?
Cell-derived extracellular vesicles such as exosomes contain biomolecules and are released from cells as a form of cell-to-cell communication. For example, exosomes act as a vehicle to transfer proteins and nucleic acids, promoting genetic exchange between cells with implications for biomarker solutions for gene therapy [2].
The role of exosomes is crucial in the immune system as the vesicles possess the power to influence both activation and suppression of the immune system. Furthermore, exosomes can initiate immune responses like inflammation to antigens, which is an important characteristic that links exosomes to diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity, and neurodegeneration [2].
Found in different bodily fluids, exosomes can be easily and efficiently sampled as biomarkers. With advanced biomarker solutions, clinical researchers can bioengineer and analyze exosomes to draw conclusions about disease pathologies and further develop targeted therapeutics to combat abnormal biological and physiological functioning. The following section will detail the clinical significance of exosomes, further establishing the need for innovative biomarker solutions to address exosomes as potential emerging biomarkers.
The Clinical Significance Of Exosomes and the Need For Biomarker Solutions
Exosomes can be derived from tumors and analyzed from cancer patients to identify genetic material and proteins that could serve as novel biomarkers for tumor growth and progression in cancer [3]. Regarding neurodegenerative diseases, exosomes can cross the blood-brain barrier, making them an attractive target for biomarkers because the vesicles could be a source of molecules revealing information about disease pathogenesis [4]. In cases of cancer and neurodegeneration, exosomes are reflective of the disease state they are sampled from, which could have implications for diagnostics and further therapeutic development using innovative biomarker solutions [5]. With this clinical significance comes the need for advanced techniques and biomarker solutions to analyze and characterize exosomes.
Furthermore, exosomes serve as a potential drug vehicle due to their ability to transport molecules from cell to cell and across mediums like the blood and brain [6]. As a novel treatment strategy, exosomes can be engineered and paired with nanotechnology and various biomarker solutions to become vessels for targeted drug delivery [6]. By harnessing the transport abilities of exosomes, there is potential for the evolution of drug development and therapeutics to become more targeted, personalized, and reproducible.
Biomarker Solutions with Synexa Life Sciences
A global leader in biomarker solutions, Synexa Life Sciences provides services for research with clinical significance. By designing targeted biomarker solutions, Synexa Life Sciences is a crucial resource in the biomedical research industry. The life science experts work with customers to deliver biomarker solutions that address every need surrounding the use of exosomes as biomarkers in clinical research. With an in-depth understanding of exosome biology and immunology, bioengineers and scientists are able to customize biomarker solutions and novel therapeutic modalities to support the global biopharmaceutical industry in achieving their clinical milestones [7]. From discovery to late clinical phases, cutting-edge biomarker solutions are helpful and impactful in developing therapeutics.
Synexa Life Sciences are pioneers in the field of exosome analysis using microparticle-detecting flow cytometry techniques, which can be applied to therapeutic development for neurological diseases like Parkinson’s Disease [7].
If you are interested in learning more about biomarker solutions for your clinical stage therapeutic studies, please reach out to our biomarker experts here and they would be happy to help.
Sources:
[1] Frank, R., & Hargreaves, R. (2003). Clinical biomarkers in drug discovery and development. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2(7), 566–580. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1130
[2] Potential Use of Exosomes as Diagnostic Biomarkers and in Targeted Drug Delivery: Progress in Clinical and Preclinical Applications. (2021). ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00217
[3] Wong, C.-H., & Chen, Y.-C. (2019). Clinical significance of exosomes as potential biomarkers in cancer. World Journal of Clinical Cases, 7(2), 171–190. https://doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v7.i2.171
[4] Mathew, B., Mansuri, M. S., Williams, K. R., & Nairn, A. C. (2021). Exosomes as Emerging Biomarker Tools in Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders—A Proteomics Perspective. Brain Sciences, 11(2), 258. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11020258
[5] Lin, J., Li, J., Huang, B., Liu, J., Chen, X., Chen, X.-M., Xu, Y.-M., Huang, L.-F., & Wang, X.-Z. (2015). Exosomes: Novel Biomarkers for Clinical Diagnosis. The Scientific World Journal, 2015, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/657086
[6] Rezaie, J., Feghhi, M., & Etemadi, T. (2022). A review on exosomes application in clinical trials: perspective, questions, and challenges. Cell Communication and Signaling, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-022-00959-4
[7] Custom Solutions & Novel Modalities – Synexa Life Sciences. (2021, June 14). Synexa Life Sciences – a Global Leader in Biomarker Services. https://synexagroup.com/custom-solutions-novel-modalities/
