Liquid Biopsy Meets Assembloids: PSA/miRNA/IL in Prostate Cancer

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Molecular Biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is crucial for prostate disorder diagnosis but lacks specificity.
• MicroRNAs (miRs) are implicated in various organ pathologies and physiological processes.
• Interleukins (ILs) also play a role in prostate health and disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the diagnostic potential of specific miRs (miR-141, miR-222) and ILs (IL-6, IL-8) in prostate disorders.
• To validate findings using prostate assembloids for in vitro analysis.
• To compare the diagnostic performance of miRs and ILs against PSA levels.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of serum miR-141, miR-222, IL-6, and IL-8 expression in men with prostate disorders.
• Utilized digital PCR and chemiluminescent immunoassays for expression analysis.
• Employed prostate assembloids (epithelial and fibroblastic cells with healthy, BPH, or PCa cells) for validation.

Main Results:

• PSA and IL-8 levels significantly differentiated PCa from BPH and healthy controls.
• Serum miR-141 and miR-222 levels were lower in BPH and PCa groups compared to healthy controls.
• ROC analysis indicated miR-141 and miR-222 effectively distinguished BPH from healthy controls, comparable to PSA.

Conclusions:

• miR-141 and miR-222 show promise as complementary biomarkers to PSA for diagnosing prostate disorders, particularly BPH.
• PSA remains the superior biomarker for detecting prostate cancer (PCa).
• Further validation in larger, independent cohorts is necessary due to the exploratory nature and limited sample size.