Abstract
This study delves into the exploration of exosomal transfer RNA-derived fragments (tRFs) as potential diagnostic markers for cervical cancer (CC). Employing plasma-derived exosomes isolated through ultracentrifugation and confirmed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), qNano, and western blot analysis, we extracted total RNA from CC and adjacent tissues (n = 48), alongside exosomes from cervical cancer patients (n = 140) and healthy donors (n = 140) using Trizol reagents. The expression of exosomal tRFs was assessed through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and subjected to statistical analysis using Mann-Whitney U or t-tests, along with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The findings unveiled a significant downregulation of exosomal tRF-Phe-GAA-001 and tRF-Gly-GCC-037 in both CC tissues and plasma samples from early-stage patients compared to healthy controls. Remarkably, these two exosomal tRFs exhibited promising capabilities as circulating biomarkers for both the diagnosis and early detection of CC, as evidenced by their high area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.9337 and 0.9432, respectively. Consequently, exosomal tRF-Phe-GAA-001 and tRF-Gly-GCC-037 were downregulated in CC and early-stage CC, indicating their potential as innovative non-invasive biomarkers for early CC diagnosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12291-024-01235-7.