Biology subjects

Morasso, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Morasso, C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Exploring Breast Cancer-Related Biochemical Changes in Circulating Extracellular Vesicles Using Raman Spectroscopy

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a subgroup of the circulating particles, released by cells in both normal and diseased states, carrying active biomolecules. They have gained significant attention as potential cancer biomarkers, particularly in breast cancer (BC). Previous research showed variations in EVs content and quantity between BC patients and healthy controls (HC). However, studying EVs biochemical profile remains challenging due to their low abundance and complex composition. Additionally, EVs may interact with other plasma components, like lipoproteins (LPs), forming a so called "biomolecular corona" that further complicates their analysis. Here, Raman spectroscopy (RS) is proposed as a fast tool to obtain the biochemical profile of circulating EVs in the context of BC. RS was employed to differentiate various extracellular particles (EPs) in blood, including LPs and EVs. The study also evaluated RSs capability to quantify major classes of biomolecules and compared these results with those obtained by traditional biochemical assays. Finally, compositional differences in large EVs (lEVs) and small EVs (sEVs) were assessed between 30 HC and 34 BC patients. RS revealed the existence of distinct biochemical signatures associated with BC, highlighting increased levels of nucleic acids and lipids in the BC group.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2023

Novel loading protocol combines highly efficient encapsulation of exogenous therapeutic toxin with preservation of extracellular vesicles properties, uptake and cargo activity

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have mostly been investigated as carriers of biological therapeutics such as proteins and RNA. Nevertheless, small-molecule drugs of natural or synthetic origin have also been loaded into EVs, resulting in an improvement of their therapeutic properties. A few methods have been employed for EV cargo loading, but poor yield and drastic modifications of vesicles remain unsolved challenges. We tested a different strategy based on temporary pH alteration through incubation of EVs with alkaline sodium carbonate, which resulted in conspicuous exogenous molecule incorporation. In-depth characterization showed that vesicle size, morphology, composition, and uptake were not affected. Our method was more efficient than gold-standard electroporation, particularly for a potential therapeutic toxin: the plant Ribosome Inactivating Protein saporin. The encapsulated saporin resulted protected from degradation, and was efficiently conveyed to receiving cancer cells and triggered cell death. EV-delivered saporin was more cytotoxic compared to the free toxin. This approach allows both the structural preservation of vesicle properties and the transfer of protected cargo in the context of drug delivery.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Raman spectroscopy on microcalcifications reveals peculiar differences between male and female breast cancer

Microcalcifications (MCs) are important disease markers for breast cancer. Many studies were conducted on their characterization in female breast cancer (FBC), but no information is available on their composition in male breast cancer (MBC). Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a molecular spectroscopy technique that can explore the biochemical composition of MCs rapidly and without requiring any staining protocol. We here compared, by Raman spectroscopy, the MCs identified on breast cancer pieces from male and female patients. In this study, we used Raman spectroscopy to analyse 41 microcalcifications from 5 invasive MBC patients and 149 MCs from 14 invasive FBC patients. Our findings show that hydroxyapatite is the most abundant type of calcium both in MBC and FBC. However, some differences in the amount and distribution of calcium minerals are present between the two groups. Besides, we observed that MCs in MBC have a higher amount of organic material (collagen) than FBC. This study provides the first overview of the composition of microcalcifications present in MBC and suggests that they have several specific features. Our result support the need for studies specifically designed to the understanding of MBC.

cancer biology↗