Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026
An Enrichment Method for Small Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Liver Cancer Tissue
Published on: February 3, 2023
Proteomic Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles Reveals Vitronectin and Laminin Subunit Alpha-3 as Candidate Biomarkers
Dong Chan Joo1,2, Su Jin Park2, Gwang Ha Kim1,2
1Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
Background/Aims:
Clinically useful noninvasive biomarkers for gastric cancer remain limited. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry a molecular cargo reflective of their cells of origin and have emerged as promising candidates for blood-based cancer biomarkers. We aimed to identify EV-associated protein biomarkers for gastric cancer via a proteomic approach.
Methods:
Proteomic profiling of EVs was performed using one normal gastric cell line (Hs738st/int) and two gastric cancer cell lines (AGS and NCI-N87). Selected proteins were validated in blood-derived EVs isolated from plasma samples of 10 healthy controls and 36 patients with gastric cancer.
Results:
Proteomic analysis identified 224 differentially expressed proteins whose expression was consistently altered in gastric cancer cell line-derived EVs. Among these, vitronectin (VTN) and laminin subunit alpha-3 (LAMA3) were selected based on their consistent upregulation. EV-associated LAMA3 levels were significantly higher in patients with gastric cancer than in healthy controls (p=0.003), with significant elevations observed from stage II onward (p=0.041, p=0.017, and p=0.004 for stages II, III, and IV, respectively). EV-associated VTN levels were not significantly different overall (p=0.089); however, stage-specific analysis demonstrated significant increases in VTN levels in patients with stage III (p=0.036) and stage IV (p=0.005) gastric cancer. Both EV-associated VTN and LAMA3 levels showed significant positive correlations with the cancer stage (ρ=0.564 and ρ=0.611, respectively; both p<0.001).
Conclusions:
The levels of EV-associated VTN and LAMA3 appear to be more closely associated with disease progression than with early-stage detection of gastric cancer. These findings suggest that EV-based proteomic biomarkers may have clinical utility for monitoring tumor progression in patients with clinically advanced gastric cancer.
