A group of scientists at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona has developed a new tool to use tRNA molecules as biomarkers to diagnose cancer in less than three hours and at a cost of less than 50 euros per sample.
tRNAs are molecules that contain a lot of information about various human diseases, including neurodegenerative, metabolic, and cancer. The method is based on nanopore sequencing, a technology that can sequence RNA molecules directly by passing them through a small pore and detecting changes in the electrical current generated as each nucleotide passes through the pore.
Eva Novoa’s research team at the CRG in Barcelona has succeeded for the first time in developing a method to measure tRNA abundance and modifications in a simple and inexpensive way with promising applications for diagnosing and predicting disease.
Current methods for measuring tRNA molecules generally involve techniques such as next-generation sequencing or mass spectrometry, which have limitations for diagnosis because they cannot detect the modifications or identify where they are in the tRNA molecule. The new method, called Nano-tRNAseq, can measure both the abundance and modifications of tRNA molecules in a single step.
Although there are still some limitations to the new method, which has been tested with yeast tRNA, the goal is to further develop this technology and combine it with artificial intelligence tools to determine the malignancy of a biological sample in less than three hours and at a cost of no more than €50 per sample. In addition, the nanopore sequencing machines used in Nano-tRNAseq are small, lightweight, and can be powered by a laptop or external battery, making them easy to transport and allowing them to be used in the field or in the clinic.