Doctoral defence: Kristiina Kurg "Exploring the potential of a liquid biopsy approach for melanoma diagnostics and the role of extracellular vesicles in atherosclerosis development"

On January 28th at 13:15, Kristiina Kurg will defend her doctoral thesis "Exploring the potential of a liquid biopsy approach for melanoma diagnostics and the role of extracellular vesicles in atherosclerosis development" to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Engineering).

Supervisors:
Professor Reet Kurg, University of Tartu
Professor Emeritus Mart Ustav, University of Tartu

Opponent:
Dr. Saara Laitinen, R&D Manager of Finnish Red Cross Blood Service, Finland

Summary: The aim of this doctoral thesis was to map the potential of autoantibodies against MAGE-A4 and MAGE-A10 and extracellular vesicles purified from patients' serum as liquid biopsy markers for the diagnosis of melanoma. In addition, another aim was to find out whether extracellular vesicles isolated from the serum of patients with myocardial infarction have different properties than those of control patients.

"Liquid biopsy" is a broad term used to describe the testing of body fluids. Liquid biopsy methods can be used to identify biomolecular features, and the information obtained can indicate the presence of diseases. Autoantibodies can be the first clues of tumor development and manifest significantly earlier than the appearance of clinical symptoms. Members of the melanoma antigen gene, MAGE, superfamily of proteins are cancer-testis antigens (CTAs). These proteins reappear during tumor development and can cause the formation of autoantibodies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived nano-sized particles that contain bioactive components from parent cells.

The results of this doctoral thesis show that autoantibodies and extracellular vesicles can be used in liquid biopsy tests to diagnose melanoma. In addition, extracellular vesicles themselves may have biologically active functions in the development of various diseases, in this case atherosclerosis.

Defence can be followed in Zoom: https://ut-ee.zoom.us/j/9530588152?pwd=ZzgzMjY4YytzUkZ5aVRCd2pOdVNQQT09 (meeting ID: 953 058 8152, passcode: kaitsmine).