Lectin-enabled glycan signature of small extracellular vesicles by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Nanotechnology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Glycans are crucial cell membrane components involved in biological processes, with aberrant expression linked to cancer.
• Lectins are used to study cell surface glycosylation, but multiplex profiling of cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) is challenging due to sEV heterogeneity and low glycan abundance.
• Existing methods lack robust multiplexing capabilities for comprehensive sEV glycan analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a lectin-based surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) assay for individual and multiplex glycan profiling on cancer-derived sEVs.
• To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the developed SERS platform.
• To demonstrate the assay's potential for clinical applications, particularly in cancer diagnostics.

Main Methods:

• Development of a lectin-based SERS assay for detecting glycan structures on sEVs.
• Utilized four distinct lectin-based SERS nanotags for simultaneous multiplex glycan profiling.
• Validated the platform's accuracy by assessing changes in sEV surface glycans after glycosidase treatment.

Main Results:

• The developed SERS assay successfully enabled both individual glycan detection and simultaneous multiplex profiling of glycans on cancer-derived sEVs in a single test.
• The platform demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in glycan detection.
• Distinct changes in glycan signatures were observed after glycosidase treatment, confirming the assay's accuracy and utility.

Conclusions:

• The lectin-based SERS assay offers a robust and sensitive platform for multiplex sEV glycan profiling.
• This assay has strong potential for analyzing glycan signatures in complex biological samples.
• The developed method shows promise for future clinical applications, especially in cancer diagnosis and monitoring.