Project Title: Prostate cancer-derived extracellular vesicles as liquid biopsies and therapeutic targets
Project No: lzp-2018/1-0269
Period: 1st August 2018 – 31 July 2021
Project costs: 300 000 EUR
Principle Investigator: Dr. biol. Aija Linē
Collaboration: Asoc. prof. Vilnis Lietuvietis
Summary
The main aim of this project is to develop novel tools for the isolation of PC-derived EVs from human biofluids and to gain a deeper understanding into the RNA content and biodistribution of various PC-derived EV subsets and to assess the therapeutic potential of their depletion from the circulation.
This project is focused on the development of novel tools for the precision diagnostics of prostate cancer (PC), as well as exploration novel therapeutic options for the treatment of cancer, thereby it fully complies with the research direction “Public health”, which is set as one of the priorities in Latvia for 2018-2021. This project is expected to generate antibodies against PC-specific EV surface markers and to identify EV-enclosed RNA biomarkers, as well as to assess the therapeutic potential of PC-derived EV depletion from the circulation. This will generate a solid basis for the development of clinically applicable diagnostic products for the detection of clinically significant PC and pave the way for the development of a novel therapeutic strategies, thereby also contributing to the research direction “Knowledge base and innovations for sustainable development of economy”.