Abstract
The ultrasensitive ELISA method developed by Watanabe and Ito combines sandwich ELISA and thio-NAD cycling to enable the quantitation of trace amounts of proteins. The ultra-traceability provided by this method makes it possible to quantify extremely small amounts of proteins in small extracellular vesicles called exosomes as well as in urine. As a result, rather than relying on ultrasensitive detection of nucleic acids, the functions of the proteins directly involved in cancer can be clarified. In the present commentary, we discuss the contribution of the ultrasensitive ELISA to the advancement of cancer research.
Keywords
Adiponectin, Cancer, Exosome, GPR78, Ultrasensitive ELISA, thio-NAD cycling, Urine