Priming agents transiently reduce the clearance of cell-free DNA to improve liquid biopsies.

Science (New York, N.Y.)
Authors
Abstract

Liquid biopsies enable early detection and monitoring of diseases such as cancer, but their sensitivity remains limited by the scarcity of analytes such as cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in blood. Improvements to sensitivity have primarily relied on enhancing sequencing technology ex vivo. We sought to transiently augment the level of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in a blood draw by attenuating its clearance in vivo. We report two intravenous priming agents given 1 to 2 hours before a blood draw to recover more ctDNA. Our priming agents consist of nanoparticles that act on the cells responsible for cfDNA clearance and DNA-binding antibodies that protect cfDNA. In tumor-bearing mice, they greatly increase the recovery of ctDNA and improve the sensitivity for detecting small tumors.

Year of Publication
2024
Journal
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Volume
383
Issue
6680
Pages
eadf2341
Date Published
01/2024
ISSN
1095-9203
DOI
10.1126/science.adf2341
PubMed ID
38236959
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