Abstract
Off-target neuronal injury is a serious side-effect observed in cancer survivors. It has previously been shown that pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors have a decline in neurocognition compared to healthy age-matched counterparts. Elevated oxidative stress has been documented to be a mediator in off-target tissue damage in cancer survivors. Early detection of oxidative stress markers may provide an opportunity to prevent off-target tissue damage. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have surfaced as a potential diagnostic tool due to molecular cargo they contain. We investigated the potential for EVs to be a sensitive indicator of oxidative stress and off-target tissue damage by isolating EVs from pediatric ALL patients throughout their first 2 months of treatment. EVs were measured throughout the collection points for: 1) number of EV particles generated using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA); 2) markers of neurons (NeuN), astrocyte activation (GFAP), neuronal stability (BDNF), 3) markers of pre-B cell ALL (CD19 and CD22); and) 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) adducted proteins. HNE protein adductions were measured in the patient sera and CSF. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were also measured in patient sera because of their contribution to oxidative stress and neuronal injury. Our results: 1) demonstrate EVs are a sensitive indicator of oxidative damage; 2) suggest EVs as a marker of a decline in neuronal stability; and 3) show the presence of leukemia has a greater contribution to pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the patient's serum than the cancer treatment. Specifically, we observed a significant decrease in cytokine levels (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) following the initiation of treatment, highlighting the influence of leukemia burden on systemic inflammation. The results support the utilization of EVs as a sensitive marker of oxidative stress and off-target tissue damage.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-1-2025
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2024.12.006
Related Content
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc-nd/4.0)
Repository Citation
Ho, Jenni; Sukati, Suriyan; Taylor, Tamara; Carter, Sherry; Fuller, Brittany; Marmo, Amy; Sorge, Caryn; D'Orazio, John; Butterfield, D Allan; Bondada, Subbarao; Weiss, Heidi; St Clair, Daret K; and Chaiswing, Luksana, "Extracellular vesicles released by ALL patients contain HNE-adducted proteins: Implications of collateral damage." (2025). Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications. 152.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/microbio_facpub/152
