CTC-mRNA (AR-V7) analysis from blood samples : impact of blood collection tube and storage time

Alison W. S. Luk, Yafeng Ma, Pei N. Ding, Francis P. Young, Wei Chua, Bavanthi Balakrishnar, Daniel T. Dransfield, Paul de Souza, Therese M. Becker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) are an emerging resource for monitoring cancer biomarkers. New technologies for CTC isolation and biomarker detection are increasingly sensitive, however, the ideal blood storage conditions to preserve CTC-specific mRNA biomarkers remains undetermined. Here we tested the preservation of tumour cells and CTC-mRNA over time in common anticoagulant ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) and acid citrate dextrose solution B (Citrate) blood tubes compared to preservative-containing blood tubes. Blood samples spiked with prostate cancer cells were processed after 0, 24, 30, and 48 h storage at room temperature. The tumour cell isolation efficiency and the mRNA levels of the prostate cancer biomarkers androgen receptor variant 7 (AR-V7) and total AR, as well as epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) were measured. Spiked cells were recovered across all storage tube types and times. Surprisingly, tumour mRNA biomarkers were readily detectable after 48 h storage in EDTA and Citrate tubes, but not in preservative-containing tubes. Notably, AR-V7 expression was detected in prostate cancer patient blood samples after 48 h storage in EDTA tubes at room temperature. This important finding presents opportunities for measuring AR-V7 expression from clinical trial patient samples processed within 48 h—a much more feasible timeframe compared to previous recommendations
Original languageEnglish
Article number1047
Number of pages11
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume18
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

Open Access - Access Right Statement

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Keywords

  • androgens
  • biochemical markers
  • cancer cells
  • polymerase chain reaction
  • receptors

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'CTC-mRNA (AR-V7) analysis from blood samples : impact of blood collection tube and storage time'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this