EVs are membrane-bound vesicles continuously secreted by cells throughout their life. Once regarded as mere cellular waste, EVs are now recognised for their critical role in health and disease, including cancer. More specifically, EVs facilitate intercellular and interorgan communication over both short and long distances.
EVs are ideal candidates for liquid biopsy. Their multi-omics cargo mirrors the health status of the cells they originate from, resists enzymatic degradation, and contains markers of origin. Each cell secretes thousands of EVs per day, including during the early stages of cancer. When a blood sample is taken, it contains billions of these EVs, including hundreds of thousands derived from specific organs such as the liver. Abnormal or cancerous cellular activity can thus be conveniently 'biopsied' through a liquid sample.
By contrast, DNA-based liquid biopsies provide a limited range of biological information because they do not capture multi-omics data and are restricted to material from dead cells. Furthermore, DNA fragments are typically scarce in the bloodstream unless the cancer is at an advanced stage, and they lack the ability to trace their organ or tissue of origin.
Mursla Bio pioneered three EV technologies to achieve optimal clinical outcomes: (i) Organ-specific EV isolation, (ii) AI-enabled multi-omics biomarker discovery from EV cargo, (iii) Scalable EV multi-omics assays for clinical use.
(i) Organ-specific EV isolation (NEXPLOR):
(ii)
