Israeli researchers develop liquid biopsy to test immune system

JERUSALEM, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) — Israeli researchers have developed a new liquid biopsy to test the state of the immune system and detect risks for disease, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) said on Wednesday.

This new accurate blood test is intended to replace invasive biopsies and expensive imaging like MRI and CT, to catch immune and inflammatory activity in remote tissues found in the bone marrow, lymph nodes and other organs.

The new method, included in a study led by HU and published in the journal eLife, relies on the release of dying cells fragments of DNA into the blood stream and on the unique pattern, called methylation, in the DNA of each cell type.

This way, it is possible to identify from which tissue the circulating fragments of DNA originated and infer disease states.

“These methylation markers allow to monitor human immune cell dynamics, and provide important information from deep within tissues that isn’t accessible in standard blood cell counts,” the researchers explained.

The team found success with lymphoma, a type of cancer that usually doesn’t show up in blood tests.

However, the new blood test picked up DNA fragments left by the immune system’s fight with lymphoma, without the need for bone marrow aspiration and further imaging.

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