Proteomic\nCharacterization\nof Urinary Exosomes with\nPancreatic Cancer by Phosphatidylserine Imprinted Polymer Enrichment\nand Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Exosomes,\nas carriers of cell-to-cell communication, can serve\nas promising biomarkers for probing the early diagnosis of cancer.\nPancreatic cancer is a common malignant tumor of the pancreas with\nan insidious onset and difficult early diagnosis. The aim of this\nstudy was to capture exosomes in urine samples by phosphatidylserine-molecularly\nimprinted polymers (PS-MIPs). Transmission electron microscopy and\nnanoparticle tracking analysis as well as Western blot showed that\nour molecularly imprinted material can effectively capture urinary\nexosomes. Three parallel tests verified the reproducibility of the\nmass spectrometry assay and the stability of the material capture\nefficiency. Mass Spectrometry with nontargeted proteomics was combined\nto show differentially expressed proteins in exosomes between 5 pancreatic\ncancer patients and 5 healthy controls. The most significant changes\nin the proteomic profile in pancreatic cancer patients compared to\nhealthy controls were the overexpression of SLC9A3R1, SPAG9, and ferritin\nlight chain (FTL) These proteins may have an important role in diagnosis\nand prognostic assessment, supporting further scientific and clinical\nstudies on pancreatic cancer.