12:00- 13:00 Takaaki Hirotsu (Kyushu University)

Cutting edge Seminar

 

Speaker: Takaaki Hirotsu, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Hirotsu Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University)

Title: Screening of early cancer with one drop of urine using C. elegans

 

Date&Time:  19 Oct. (Wed.) 2016, 12:00- 13:00
Venue: Conference Room(1F), IMEG

Abstract:

Early detection and treatment are important for the successful eradication of various cancers. We noticed “cancer odorants” and Caenorhabditis elegans, and developed a nematode scent detection test (n-nose) to provide a novel highly accurate cancer detection system. Wild-type C. elegans showed attractive chemotaxis towards human cancer cells and urine from cancer patients but avoidance of control urine. Olfactory neurons of C. elegans responded to urine from cancer patients significantly stronger than to control urine. In contrast, olfactory neurons-ablated animals were not attracted to cancer patient urine, suggesting that C. elegans senses cancer odors in urine. We tested 242 samples to measure the performance of the n-nose, and found the accuracy was markedly higher than that of other existing tumor markers. The n-nose could diagnose various cancer types tested at the early stage.

The n-nose has many advantages as noninvasive, convenient, rapid, high accurate, comprehensive, convenient and low costs. n-nose has the possibility to change a conventional cancer diagnosis system. The biggest difference between this method and the other established ones is only word to describe “Diagnosis using organism”. It becomes possible to provide high-sensitivity and low-cost examination with using the olfaction which especially excels in living animals and choosing the low-cost organism. If “n-nose” is put into practical use, we can expect a great increase of cancer-screening examination rate and also inversely related to reduce medical expenditure of death by cancer as a result.

 

• Hirotsu T. et al, A Highly Accurate Inclusive Cancer Screening Test Using Caenorhabditis elegans Scent Detection. PLOS ONE (2015)
• Taniguchi G., Hirotsu T. et al, Screening of Odor-Receptor Pairs in Caenorhabditis elegans Reveals Different Receptors for High and Low Odor Concentrations. Science Signaling (2014)
• Yoshida K., Hirotsu T. et al, Odour concentration-dependent olfactory preference change in C. elegans. Nature Communications (2012)
• Yamada K., Hirotsu T. et al, Olfactory plasticity is regulated by pheromonal signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans. Science (2010)

 

Click here for the details