dsDNA from extracellular vesicles (EVs) in adult AML

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), in particular exosomes, lately attracted a considerable interest in cancer research. We have previously demonstrated the feasibility of the leukemia-derived exosomes enrichment by an immunoselection system in chronic myeloid leukemia patients. Then, we explored the feasibility of this approach also in adult AML patients. In the present feasibility study we evaluated the capability of AML derived exosomes to shuttled leukemia-associated mutations, both as cargo and as surrounding DNA. To improve the sensitivity of the approach, we combined an immunoselecion of exosomes and NGS analysis via target resequencing. We observed a decrease in exoDNA quantity in patients presenting therapy response or complete remission and confirmed the possibility to detect leukemic markers in terms of mutations by analyzing leukemia-derived exosomes.