Nazarbay, Aigerim2024-10-072024-10-072024Nazarbay, A. (2024). Soluble fragment of the receptor tyrosine kinase MERTK as a liquid biopsy biomarker in bladder cancer. Nazarbayev University School of Medicinehttps://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/8272Aim of the study: The main purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of soluble MERTK as a liquid biomarker in bladder cancer. The presence of soluble MERTK in urine samples of bladder cancer patients was analyzed using different laboratory techniques. Background: MERTK is a member of TAM receptors that are expressed in normal blood cells and cancer cells. MERTK exists in a soluble form which made by proteolytic cleavage, and it is a detectable in urine samples of patients. Currently, the available diagnostic methods for bladder cancer are mostly invasive and expensive, and they used to detect progressive forms of cancer. The main scope of many studies is the utilization of these receptors as potential biomarkers for the early detection of bladder cancer. Methodology: The small-scale preliminary study was conducted to characterize expression of MERTK in bladder cancer using the several laboratory techniques as ELISA, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Study subjects were adult patients diagnosed with bladder cancer and healthy controls. Biopsy and urine samples of bladder cancer patients were used as samples. Results and Conclusion: The results of experiments showed the high expression of soluble MERTK in bladder cancer patients’ urine samples compared to samples of healthy controls. According to the results immunohistochemistry, MERTK was expressed in bladder cancer tissue of these patients. To conclude, soluble MERTK can be utilized as a liquid biomarker in bladder cancer.enAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United StatesType of access: Openbladder cancerMaster`s thesis