Electrochemical immunosensor-enabled liquid biopsy of extracellular vesicles for diagnosis of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis

Accurate, noninvasive biomarkers for diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) remain an urgent unmet clinical need. Here, we describe an electrochemical immunoassay that involves capturing hepatic extracellular vesicles (EVs) on antibody-modified electrodes followed by detecting EV-borne biomarkers using redox active gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The intensity of electrochemical redox signal represents a quantitative measure of biomarker abundance. Three MASH-associated biomarkers-S100A11, TNF-α, and TGF-β1-were analyzed on hepatic EVs to assess steatotic, inflammatory, and fibrotic states of the diseased liver. The electrochemical signals for individual biomarkers were added into a composite EV _MASH score. Plasma samples from 28 patients with MASH, 22 healthy controls, and 27 patients with non-MASH liver disease were scored in this manner, revealing 100% accuracy in the training cohort and >90% accuracy in an independent validation cohort. Our electrochemical immunosensor represents a minimally invasive liquid liver biopsy, offering a promising alternative to solid liver biopsies for screening and monitoring of MASH.

Circulating hepatic extracellular vesicles carry biomarkers of liver injury enabling accurate, minimally invasive MASH diagnosis in blood.