Insect Olfactory Receptor-Expressing Sensor Cells for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis Using Urine Samples

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Oncology
• Biosensor Technology

Background:

• Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major global health concern with current detection methods facing limitations in invasiveness and sensitivity.
• There is a critical need for noninvasive and highly sensitive diagnostic tools for early CRC detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel diagnostic approach for colorectal cancer (CRC) using insect-derived olfactory receptors (ORs) as biosensors.
• To assess the efficacy of OR-based biosensors in detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urine for CRC diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Screening of 483 olfactory receptors (ORs) using urine samples from 75 CRC patients and 75 non-cancer controls.
• Detection of sensor cell response to urinary VOCs via time-series luminescence emission.
• Application of machine learning algorithms to analyze luminescence data and develop a diagnostic model.

Main Results:

• Identification of CRC-discriminative ORs capable of distinguishing between CRC patients and healthy individuals based on urinary VOC profiles.
• Development of a diagnostic model with 80% sensitivity and an ROC-AUC of 0.84.
• Demonstration of luminescence signal generation correlating with the presence of CRC.

Conclusions:

• Olfactory receptor-based biosensors show significant potential as noninvasive tools for colorectal cancer diagnosis.
• The developed biosensor system offers a sensitive and specific method for detecting cancer-specific volatile organic compounds in urine.
• This approach represents a promising advancement in liquid biopsy techniques for early cancer detection.