Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of an Orthotopic Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Model

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has been limitedly used for orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts due to severe respiratory motion artifact in the abdominal area. Orthotopic tumor models offer advantages over subcutaneous ones, because those can reflect the primary tumor microenvironment affecting blood supply, neovascularization, and tumor cell invasion. We have recently established a protocol of DCE-MRI of orthotopic pancreatic tumor xenografts in mouse models by securing tumors with an orthogonally bent plastic board to prevent motion transfer from the chest region during imaging. The pressure by this board was localized on the abdominal area, and has not resulted in respiratory difficulty of the animals. This article demonstrates the detailed procedure of orthotopic pancreatic tumor modeling using small animals and DCE-MRI of the tumor xenografts. Quantification method of pharmacokinetic parameters in DCE-MRI is also introduced. The procedure described in this article will assist investigators to apply DCE-MRI for orthotopic gastrointestinal cancer mouse models.     

Ibulocydine is a novel prodrug Cdk inhibitor that effectively induces apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is frequently associated with abnormalities in cell cycle regulation, leading to increased activity of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) due to the loss, or low expression of, Cdk inhibitors. In this study, we showed that ibulocydine (an isobutyrate prodrug of the specific Cdk inhibitor, BMK-Y101) is a candidate anti-cancer drug for HCC. Ibulocydine has high activity against Cdk7/cyclin H/Mat1 and Cdk9/cyclin T. Ibulocydine inhibited the growth of HCC cells more effectively than other Cdk inhibitors, including olomoucine and roscovitine, whereas ibulocydine as well as the other Cdk inhibitors and BMK-Y101 minimally influenced the growth of normal hepatocyte cells. Ibulocydine induced apoptosis in HCC cells, most likely by inhibiting Cdk7 and Cdk9. In vitro treatment of HCC cells with ibulocydine rapidly blocked phosphorylation of the carboxyl-terminal domain (CTD) of the large subunit of RNA polymerase II, a process mediated by Cdk7/9. Anti-apoptotic gene products such as Mcl-1, survivin, and X-linked IAP (XIAP) are crucial for the survival of many cell types, including HCC. Following the inhibition of RNA polymerase II phosphorylation, ibulocydine caused rapid down-regulation of Mcl-1, survivin, and XIAP, thus inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, ibulocydine effectively induced apoptosis in HCC xenografts with no toxic side effects. These results suggest that ibulocydine is a strong candidate anti-cancer drug for the treatment of HCC.     

Employing Digital Droplet PCR to Detect BRAF V600E Mutations in Formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded Reference Standard Cell Lines

ddPCR is a highly sensitive PCR method that utilizes a water-oil emulsion system. Using a droplet generator, an extracted nucleic acid sample is partitioned into ~20,000 nano-sized, water-in-oil droplets, and PCR amplification occurs in individual droplets. The ddPCR approach is in identifying sequence mutations, copy number alterations, and select structural rearrangements involving targeted genes. Here, we demonstrate the use of ddPCR as a powerful technique for precisely quantitating rare BRAF V600E mutations in FFPE reference standard cell lines, which is helpful in identifying individuals with cancer. In conclusion, ddPCR technique offers the potential to precisely profile the specific rare mutations in different genes in various types of FFPE samples.     

Stereotactic Intracranial Implantation and In vivo Bioluminescent Imaging of Tumor Xenografts in a Mouse Model System of Glioblastoma Multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a high-grade primary brain cancer with a median survival of only 14.6 months in humans despite standard tri-modality treatment consisting of surgical resection, post-operative radiation therapy and temozolomide chemotherapy ¹. New therapeutic approaches are clearly needed to improve patient survival and quality of life. The development of more effective treatment strategies would be aided by animal models of GBM that recapitulate human disease yet allow serial imaging to monitor tumor growth and treatment response. In this paper, we describe our technique for the precise stereotactic implantation of bio-imageable GBM cancer cells into the brains of nude mice resulting in tumor xenografts that recapitulate key clinical features of GBM ². This method yields tumors that are reproducible and are located in precise anatomic locations while allowing in vivo bioluminescent imaging to serially monitor intracranial xenograft growth and response to treatments ^3-5. This method is also well-tolerated by the animals with low perioperative morbidity and mortality.     

Preparation of myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) from naive and pancreatic tumor-bearing mice using flow cytometry and automated magnetic activated cell sorting (AutoMACS)

MDSC are a heterogeneous population of immature macrophages, dendritic cells and granulocytes that accumulate in lymphoid organs in pathological conditions including parasitic infection, inflammation, traumatic stress, graft-versus-host disease, diabetes and cancer^1-7. In mice, MDSC express Mac-1 (CD11b) and Gr-1 (Ly6G and Ly6C) surface antigens⁷. It is important to note that MDSC are well studied in various tumor-bearing hosts where they are significantly expanded and suppress anti-tumor immune responses compared to naïve counterparts^7-10. However, depending on the pathological condition, there are different subpopulations of MDSC with distinct mechanisms and targets of suppression^11,12. Therefore, effective methods to isolate viable MDSC populations are important in elucidating their different molecular mechanisms of suppression in vitro and in vivo.Recently, the Ghansah group has reported the expansion of MDSC in a murine pancreatic cancer model. Our tumor-bearing MDSC display a loss of homeostasis and increased suppressive function compared to naïve MDSC ¹³. MDSC percentages are significantly less in lymphoid compartments of naïve vs. tumor-bearing mice. This is a major caveat, which often hinders accurate comparative analyses of these MDSC. Therefore, enriching Gr-1⁺ leukocytes from naïve mice prior to Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) enhances purity, viability and significantly reduces sort time. However, enrichment of Gr-1⁺ leukocytes from tumor-bearing mice is optional as these are in abundance for quick FACS sorting. Therefore, in this protocol, we describe a highly efficient method of immunophenotyping MDSC and enriching Gr-1⁺ leukocytes from spleens of naïve mice for sorting MDSC in a timely manner. Immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice are inoculated with murine Panc02 cells subcutaneously whereas naïve mice receive 1XPBS. Approximately 30 days post inoculation; spleens are harvested and processed into single-cell suspensions using a cell dissociation sieve. Splenocytes are then Red Blood Cell (RBC) lysed and an aliquot of these leukocytes are stained using fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies against Mac-1 and Gr-1 to immunophenotype MDSC percentages using Flow Cytometry. In a parallel experiment, whole leukocytes from naïve mice are stained with fluorescent-conjugated Gr-1 antibodies, incubated with PE-MicroBeads and positively selected using an automated Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (autoMACS) Pro Separator. Next, an aliquot of Gr-1⁺ leukocytes are stained with Mac-1 antibodies to identify the increase in MDSC percentages using Flow Cytometry. Now, these Gr1⁺ enriched leukocytes are ready for FACS sorting of MDSC to be used in comparative analyses (naïve vs. tumor- bearing) in in vivo and in vitro assays.     

An Orthotopic Bladder Tumor Model and the Evaluation of Intravesical saRNA Treatment

We present a novel method for treating bladder cancer with intravesically delivered small activating RNA (saRNA) in an orthotopic xenograft mouse bladder tumor model. The mouse model is established by urethral catheterization under inhaled general anesthetic. Chemical burn is then introduced to the bladder mucosa using intravesical silver nitrate solution to disrupt the bladder glycosaminoglycan layer and allows cells to attach. Following several washes with sterile water, human bladder cancer KU-7-luc2-GFP cells are instilled through the catheter into the bladder to dwell for 2 hours. Subsequent growth of bladder tumors is confirmed and monitored by in vivo bladder ultrasound and bioluminescent imaging. The tumors are then treated intravesically with saRNA formulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Tumor growth is monitored with ultrasound and bioluminescence. All steps of this procedure are demonstrated in the accompanying video.     

A Multiplexed Luciferase-based Screening Platform for Interrogating Cancer-associated Signal Transduction in Cultured Cells

Genome-scale interrogation of gene function using RNA interference (RNAi) holds tremendous promise for the rapid identification of chemically tractable cancer cell vulnerabilities. Limiting the potential of this technology is the inability to rapidly delineate the mechanistic basis of phenotypic outcomes and thus inform the development of molecularly targeted therapeutic strategies. We outline here methods to deconstruct cellular phenotypes induced by RNAi-mediated gene targeting using multiplexed reporter systems that allow monitoring of key cancer cell-associated processes. This high-content screening methodology is versatile and can be readily adapted for the screening of other types of large molecular libraries.     

Processing of Primary Brain Tumor Tissue for Stem Cell Assays and Flow Sorting

Brain tumors are typically comprised of morphologically diverse cells that express a variety of neural lineage markers. Only a relatively small fraction of cells in the tumor with stem cell properties, termed brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs), possess an ability to differentiate along multiple lineages, self-renew, and initiate tumors in vivo. We applied culture conditions originally used for normal neural stem cells (NSCs) to a variety of human brain tumors and found that this culture method specifically selects for stem-like populations. Serum-free medium (NSC) allows for the maintenance of an undifferentiated stem cell state, and the addition of bFGF and EGF allows for the proliferation of multi-potent, self-renewing, and expandable tumorspheres.To further characterize each tumor''s BTIC population, we evaluate cell surface markers by flow cytometry. We may also sort populations of interest for more specific characterization. Self-renewal assays are performed on single BTICs sorted into 96 well plates; the formation of tumorspheres following incubation at 37 °C indicates the presence of a stem or progenitor cell. Multiple cell numbers of a particular population can also be sorted in different wells for limiting dilution analysis, to analyze self-renewal capacity. We can also study differential gene expression within a particular cell population by using single cell RT-PCR.The following protocols describe our procedures for the dissociation and culturing of primary human samples to enrich for BTIC populations, as well as the dissociation of tumorspheres. Also included are protocols for staining for flow cytometry analysis or sorting, self-renewal assays, and single cell RT-PCR.     

DNA vector-based RNA interference to study gene function in cancer

RNA interference (RNAi) inhibits gene expression by specifically degrading target mRNAs. Since the discovery of double-stranded small interference RNA (siRNA) in gene silencing, RNAi has become a powerful research tool in gene function studies. Compared to genetic deletion, RNAi-mediated gene silencing possesses many advantages, such as the ease with which it is carried out and its suitability to most cell lines. Multiple studies have demonstrated the applications of RNAi technology in cancer research. In particular, the development of the DNA vector-based technology to produce small hairpin RNA (shRNA) driven by the U6 or H1 promoter has made long term and inducible gene silencing possible. Its use in combination with genetically engineered viral vectors, such as lentivirus, facilitates high efficiencies of shRNA delivery and/or integration into genomic DNA for stable shRNA expression. We describe a detailed procedure using the DNA vector-based RNAi technology to determine gene function, including construction of lentiviral vectors expressing shRNA, lentivirus production and cell infection, and functional studies using a mouse xenograft model. Various strategies have been reported in generating shRNA constructs. The protocol described here employing PCR amplification and a 3-fragment ligation can be used to directly and efficiently generate shRNA-containing lentiviral constructs without leaving any extra nucleotide adjacent to a shRNA coding sequence. Since the shRNA-expression cassettes created by this strategy can be cut out by restriction enzymes, they can be easily moved to other vectors with different fluorescent or antibiotic markers. Most commercial transfection reagents can be used in lentivirus production. However, in this report, we provide an economic method using calcium phosphate precipitation that can achieve over 90% transfection efficiency in 293T cells. Compared to constitutive shRNA expression vectors, an inducible shRNA system is particularly suitable to knocking down a gene essential to cell proliferation. We demonstrate the gene silencing of Yin Yang 1 (YY1), a potential oncogene in breast cancer, by a Tet-On inducible shRNA system and its effects on tumor formation. Research using lentivirus requires review and approval of a biosafety protocol by the Biosafety Committee of a researcher's institution. Research using animal models requires review and approval of an animal protocol by the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) of a researcher's institution.     

Assaying DNA Damage in Hippocampal Neurons Using the Comet Assay

A number of drugs target the DNA repair pathways and induce cell kill by creating DNA damage. Thus, processes to directly measure DNA damage have been extensively evaluated. Traditional methods are time consuming, expensive, resource intensive and require replicating cells. In contrast, the comet assay, a single cell gel electrophoresis assay, is a faster, non-invasive, inexpensive, direct and sensitive measure of DNA damage and repair. All forms of DNA damage as well as DNA repair can be visualized at the single cell level using this powerful technique.The principle underlying the comet assay is that intact DNA is highly ordered whereas DNA damage disrupts this organization. The damaged DNA seeps into the agarose matrix and when subjected to an electric field, the negatively charged DNA migrates towards the cathode which is positively charged. The large undamaged DNA strands are not able to migrate far from the nucleus. DNA damage creates smaller DNA fragments which travel farther than the intact DNA. Comet Assay, an image analysis software, measures and compares the overall fluorescent intensity of the DNA in the nucleus with DNA that has migrated out of the nucleus. Fluorescent signal from the migrated DNA is proportional to DNA damage. Longer brighter DNA tail signifies increased DNA damage. Some of the parameters that are measured are tail moment which is a measure of both the amount of DNA and distribution of DNA in the tail, tail length and percentage of DNA in the tail. This assay allows to measure DNA repair as well since resolution of DNA damage signifies repair has taken place. The limit of sensitivity is approximately 50 strand breaks per diploid mammalian cell ^1,2. Cells treated with any DNA damaging agents, such as etoposide, may be used as a positive control. Thus the comet assay is a quick and effective procedure to measure DNA damage.     

Enhancement of Apoptotic and Autophagic Induction by a Novel Synthetic C-1 Analogue of 7-deoxypancratistatin in Human Breast Adenocarcinoma and Neuroblastoma Cells with Tamoxifen

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers amongst women in North America. Many current anti-cancer treatments, including ionizing radiation, induce apoptosis via DNA damage. Unfortunately, such treatments are non-selective to cancer cells and produce similar toxicity in normal cells. We have reported selective induction of apoptosis in cancer cells by the natural compound pancratistatin (PST). Recently, a novel PST analogue, a C-1 acetoxymethyl derivative of 7-deoxypancratistatin (JCTH-4), was produced by de novo synthesis and it exhibits comparable selective apoptosis inducing activity in several cancer cell lines. Recently, autophagy has been implicated in malignancies as both pro-survival and pro-death mechanisms in response to chemotherapy. Tamoxifen (TAM) has invariably demonstrated induction of pro-survival autophagy in numerous cancers. In this study, the efficacy of JCTH-4 alone and in combination with TAM to induce cell death in human breast cancer (MCF7) and neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells was evaluated. TAM alone induced autophagy, but insignificant cell death whereas JCTH-4 alone caused significant induction of apoptosis with some induction of autophagy. Interestingly, the combinatory treatment yielded a drastic increase in apoptotic and autophagic induction. We monitored time-dependent morphological changes in MCF7 cells undergoing TAM-induced autophagy, JCTH-4-induced apoptosis and autophagy, and accelerated cell death with combinatorial treatment using time-lapse microscopy. We have demonstrated these compounds to induce apoptosis/autophagy by mitochondrial targeting in these cancer cells. Importantly, these treatments did not affect the survival of noncancerous human fibroblasts. Thus, these results indicate that JCTH-4 in combination with TAM could be used as a safe and very potent anti-cancer therapy against breast cancer and neuroblastoma cells.     

A Protocol for Analyzing Hepatitis C Virus Replication

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) affects 3% of the world’s population and causes serious liver ailments including chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV is an enveloped RNA virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae. Current treatment is not fully effective and causes adverse side effects. There is no HCV vaccine available. Thus, continued effort is required for developing a vaccine and better therapy. An HCV cell culture system is critical for studying various stages of HCV growth including viral entry, genome replication, packaging, and egress. In the current procedure presented, we used a wild-type intragenotype 2a chimeric virus, FNX-HCV, and a recombinant FNX-Rluc virus carrying a Renilla luciferase reporter gene to study the virus replication. A human hepatoma cell line (Huh-7 based) was used for transfection of in vitro transcribed HCV genomic RNAs. Cell-free culture supernatants, protein lysates and total RNA were harvested at various time points post-transfection to assess HCV growth. HCV genome replication status was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR and visualizing the presence of HCV double-stranded RNA. The HCV protein expression was verified by Western blot and immunofluorescence assays using antibodies specific for HCV NS3 and NS5A proteins. HCV RNA transfected cells released infectious particles into culture supernatant and the viral titer was measured. Luciferase assays were utilized to assess the replication level and infectivity of reporter HCV. In conclusion, we present various virological assays for characterizing different stages of the HCV replication cycle.     

Cerenkov Luminescence Imaging (CLI) for Cancer Therapy Monitoring

In molecular imaging, positron emission tomography (PET) and optical imaging (OI) are two of the most important and thus most widely used modalities^1-3. PET is characterized by its excellent sensitivity and quantification ability while OI is notable for non-radiation, relative low cost, short scanning time, high throughput, and wide availability to basic researchers. However, both modalities have their shortcomings as well. PET suffers from poor spatial resolution and high cost, while OI is mostly limited to preclinical applications because of its limited tissue penetration along with prominent scattering optical signals through the thickness of living tissues.Recently a bridge between PET and OI has emerged with the discovery of Cerenkov Luminescence Imaging (CLI)^4-6. CLI is a new imaging modality that harnesses Cerenkov Radiation (CR) to image radionuclides with OI instruments. Russian Nobel laureate Alekseyevich Cerenkov and his colleagues originally discovered CR in 1934. It is a form of electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle travels at a superluminal speed in a dielectric medium^7,8. The charged particle, whether positron or electron, perturbs the electromagnetic field of the medium by displacing the electrons in its atoms. After passing of the disruption photons are emitted as the displaced electrons return to the ground state. For instance, one ¹⁸F decay was estimated to produce an average of 3 photons in water⁵. Since its emergence, CLI has been investigated for its use in a variety of preclinical applications including in vivo tumor imaging, reporter gene imaging, radiotracer development, multimodality imaging, among others^4,5,9,10,11. The most important reason why CLI has enjoyed much success so far is that this new technology takes advantage of the low cost and wide availability of OI to image radionuclides, which used to be imaged only by more expensive and less available nuclear imaging modalities such as PET.Here, we present the method of using CLI to monitor cancer drug therapy. Our group has recently investigated this new application and validated its feasibility by a proof-of-concept study¹². We demonstrated that CLI and PET exhibited excellent correlations across different tumor xenografts and imaging probes. This is consistent with the overarching principle of CR that CLI essentially visualizes the same radionuclides as PET. We selected Bevacizumab (Avastin; Genentech/Roche) as our therapeutic agent because it is a well-known angiogenesis inhibitor^13,14. Maturation of this technology in the near future can be envisioned to have a significant impact on preclinical drug development, screening, as well as therapy monitoring of patients receiving treatments.     

Implementation of In Vitro Drug Resistance Assays: Maximizing the Potential for Uncovering Clinically Relevant Resistance Mechanisms

Although targeted therapies are initially effective, resistance inevitably emerges. Several methods, such as genetic analysis of resistant clinical specimens, have been applied to uncover these resistance mechanisms to facilitate follow-up care. Although these approaches have led to clinically relevant discoveries, difficulties in attaining the relevant patient material or in deconvoluting the genomic data collected from these specimens have severely hampered the path towards a cure. To this end, we here describe a tool for expeditious discovery that may guide improvement in first-line therapies and alternative clinical management strategies. By coupling preclinical in vitro or in vivo drug selection with next-generation sequencing, it is possible to identify genomic structural variations and/or gene expression alterations that may serve as functional drivers of resistance. This approach facilitates the spontaneous emergence of alterations, enhancing the probability that these mechanisms may be observed in the patients. In this protocol we provide guidelines to maximize the potential for uncovering single nucleotide variants that drive resistance using adherent lines.