Ancient enzyme could boost power of liquid biopsies to detect and profile cancers

Isabella Dibbini

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology

16 November 2017

“Ancient Enzyme Could Boost Power of Liquid Biopsies to Detect and Profile Cancers.”ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 16 Nov. 2017,

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171116132751.htm.

The article “Ancient enzyme could boost power of liquid biopsies to detect and profile cancers” discusses the development of a new tool which will provide doctors with a complete picture of an individual’s disease, improving their chances of receiving the best treatment. These scientists developed liquid biopsies that have the ability to rapidly detect the presence of cancers, infectious diseases and other conditions from just a small blood sample. At the University of Texas at Austin, a research team is developing a tool for liquid biopsy that will provide doctors with the specifics of the person’s disease. With this tool, patients will be spared the pain and long wait times associated with surgical biopsies.

A professor in the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Alan Lambowitz, is studying an enzyme located in bacteria that can be used to detect bits of genetic material which have been shed by cancer or other diseased cells into an individual’s bloodstream. Currently, some liquid biopsies can detect DNA in blood, whereas others detect RNA. However, this enzyme can detect the full range of RNAs with higher accuracy. As Lambowitz explains, cancer-causing mutation can have different effects and respond differently to treatments, depending on the individual because "DNA biomarkers are static. They provide information about mutations that cause a disease, but they don't provide information about the effect of these mutations on cellular processes, which can differ in different individuals.” Lambowitz visualizes a liquid biopsy that would provide health professionals with all different kinds of information. He believes that the group of enzymes that can help are the thermostable group II intron reverse transcriptases (TGRITs). Lambowitz is convinced that this group of enzymes can help because they “find strands of RNA and create complementary strands of DNA that encode the same information and can be rapidly sequenced to provide diagnostic information.” Currently, Lambowitz and his team are collaborating with clinicians to test liquid biopsies based on this TGIRT enzyme.

Because Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide, this article is extremely significant, as it connects to our society today. This new tool for liquid biopsy, that is currently being developed, will save countless lives and also spare patients the pain, inconvenience and long wait times associated with surgical biopsies. This study, that researchers at the University of Texas at Austin are working on, is raising awareness of these diseases, but also providing cancer patients with hope, that they will gain the ability to receive the best treatment. With the advancement of technology in the 21st century, it is easier for scientists to develop new tools, that could potentially improve a patient's overall health.

The article “Ancient enzyme could boost power of liquid biopsies to detect and profile cancers” from Science Daily, discusses new tools that are being developed to further the progress of cancer treatment. In this article, the author discusses the many studies, researchers such as Alan Lambowitz have conducted, and does a great job of incorporating quotes directly from Lambowitz to support his ideas. However, I wish the author included more specifics on the development of this enzyme, for example, information on when this will be completed. Overall, I found this article to be extremely informative, but I wish the author included more about the plans of this enzyme in the future.