Treatment of experimental adjuvant arthritis with a novel folate receptor-targeted folic acid-aminopterin conjugate

Introduction  

Folate receptor (FR)-expressing macrophages have been shown to accumulate at sites of inflammation, where they promote development of inflammatory symptoms. To target such a macrophage population, we designed and evaluated the biologic activity of EC0746, a novel folic acid conjugate of the highly potent antifolate, aminopterin.     

High efficiency synthesis of a bioconjugatable near-infrared fluorochrome

Near-infrared (NIR) fluorochromes have become important reporter molecules for many biomedical applications, including FACS sorting, confocal microscopy, and more recently in vivo imaging. While the structures of several stable 800 nm fluorochromes have been published, their synthesis is often complex and there are difficulties in rapidly purifying these compounds in large quantities. Here we report on the synthesis of NIR820, ex/em = 790/820, with excellent physicochemical properties. Importantly, NIR820 is conveniently synthesized in a three-step reaction and can be purified by flash column chromatography rather than by HPLC. NIR820 is chemically stable and can be directly coupled to peptides during the solid-phase synthesis. In addition, NIR820 is also suitable for conjugation to proteins and other affinity molecules in aqueous buffer.     

2-Nitroimidazole-tricarbocyanine conjugate as a near-infrared fluorescent probe for in vivo imaging of tumor hypoxia

We developed a novel near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe, GPU-167, for in vivo imaging of tumor hypoxia. GPU-167 comprises a tricarbocyanine dye as an NIR fluorophore and two 2-nitroimidazole moieties as exogenous hypoxia markers that undergo bioreductive activation and then selective entrapment in hypoxic cells. After treatment with GPU-167, tumor cells contained significantly higher levels of fluorescence in hypoxia than in normoxia. In vivo fluorescence imaging specifically detected GPU-167 in tumors 24 h after administration. Ex vivo analysis revealed that fluorescence showed a strong correlation with hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1 active hypoxic regions. These data suggest that GPU-167 is a promising in vivo optical imaging probe for tumor hypoxia.     

Enhanced oligonucleotide-nanoparticle conjugate stability using thioctic acid modified oligonucleotides

Metallic nanoparticles of gold functionalized with oligonucleotides conventionally use a terminal thiol modification and have been used in a wide range of applications. Although readily available, the oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugates prepared in this way suffer from a lack of stability when exposed to a variety of small molecules or elevated temperatures. If silver is used in place of gold then this lack of stability is even more pronounced. In this study we report the synthesis of highly stabilized oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugates using a simple oligonucleotide modification. A modified solid support was used to generate 3′-thioctic acid modified oligonucleotides by treatment with an N-hydroxysuccimidyl ester of thioctic acid. Unusually, both gold and silver nanoparticles have been investigated in this study and show that these disulphide-modified oligonucleotide probes offer significant improvements in nanoparticle stability when treated with dithiothreitol (DTT) compared with monothiol analogues. This is a significant advance in oligonucleotide–nanoparticle conjugate stability and for the first time allows silver nanoparticles to be prepared that are more stable than standard gold-thiol functionalized nanoparticles. This opens up the possibility of using silver nanoparticles functionalized with oligonucleotides as an alternative to gold.     

Rapid visual detection of sperm-egg fusion using the DNA-specific fluorochrome Hoechst 33342

When unfertilized sea urchin eggs are pretreated with the bisbenzimide DNA-specific fluorochrome Hoechst 33342, then washed and fertilized, a single sperm bound to the egg surface becomes intensely fluorescent. The location of the fluorescent sperm on the egg surface coincides exactly with the epicenter of the cortical reaction and the site at which the insemination cone subsequently appears. These observations, coupled with studies of eggs treated with quercetin to prevent fusion, as well as eggs made polyspermic by halothane exposure, indicate that the sperm acquires fluorescence as a consequence of fusion with the fluorochrome preloaded egg. Using a modification of this technique, we have found that cytoplasmic continuity between the sperm and egg is established at 4-8 sec after the onset of the sperm-induced conductance increase in the egg.     

Visualizing head and neck tumors in vivo using near-infrared fluorescent transferrin conjugate

Transferrin receptor (TfR) is overexpressed in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs). This study was carried out to investigate the feasibility of imaging HNSCC by targeting TfR using near-infrared fluorescent transferrin conjugate (TfNIR). Western blot analysis of four HNSCC cell lines revealed overexpression of TfR in all four lines compared with that in normal keratinocytes (OKFL). Immunocytochemistry further confirmed the expression of TfR and endocytosis of TfNIR in JHU-013 culture cells. Following intravenous administration of TfNIR (200 microL, 0.625 microg/microL), fluorescent signal was preferentially accumulated in JHU-013 tumor xenografts grown in the lower back (n=14) and oral base tissues (n=4) of nude mice. The signal in tumors was clearly detectable as early as 10 minutes and reached the maximum at 90 to 120 minutes postinjection. The background showed an increase, followed by a decrease at a much faster pace than tumor signal. A high fluorescent ratio of the tumor to muscle was obtained (from 1.42 to 4.15 among tumors), usually achieved within 6 hours, and correlated with the tumor size (r=.74, p=.002). Our results indicate that TfR is a promising target and that Tf(NIR)-based optical imaging is potentially useful for noninvasive detection of early HNSCC in the clinic.     

Synthesis and activity of a folate targeted monodisperse PEG camptothecin conjugate

A folate targeted camptothecin small molecule drug conjugate (SMDC) was synthesized using a monodisperse PEG spacer linked to folate via a releasable disulfide carbonate linker. Cell cytotoxicity in human KB cells exhibited an IC₅₀ of 6 nM. Importantly, activity of the prodrug was blocked by excess folate, demonstrating receptor-mediated celluar uptake of the PEG conjugate.     

Synthesis and application of a water-soluble near-infrared dye for cancer detection using optical imaging

A novel water-soluble 2-[2-(2-chloro-3-{2-[3,3-dimethyl-5-sulfo-1-(4-sulfo-butyl)-3H-indol-2-yl]-vinyl}-cyclohex-2-enylidene)-ethylidene]-3,3-dimethyl-1-(4-sulfo-butyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole-5-carboxylic acid (dye 2) was developed via an asymmetric approach. With an additional sulfonate group, the near-infrared feature of this dye exhibited a 2-fold increase in quantum yield compared to the previous generation. The current synthetic strategy provided a single carboxylic group as a handle for conjugation, thus allowing selectivity for bioconjugation. The stability of this dye was demonstrated by labeling peptides via solid-phase peptide chemistry. The in vivo optical imaging showed potential and broad applications of this dye in developing molecular-based beacons for cancer detection.     

PBXL-1: a new fluorochrome applied to detection of proteins on membranes

An easy, sensitive and direct fluorescent immunodetection method for proteins is described using the new fluorochrome PBXL-1 imaged with the FMBIO II Laser Scanning Imaging System. PBXL-1 is derived from a protein supra-molecular complex that contains a large number of chromophores. This complex, the phycobilisome, is extracted from a red alga then chemically stabilized to allow its use in specific binding assays. PBXL-1 was cross-linked to goat anti-rabbit IgG or streptavidin with heterobifunctional cross-linkers. The detection limit of PBXL-1 was determined by applying it on nitrocellulose membranes then imaging the membrane using an ytterbium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser. Evaluation of PBXL-1 sensitivity in a specific binding assay was tested on streptavidin/biotin and an antibody system. PBXL-1 provides high sensitivity in direct fluorescent applications due to a physical amplification of signal (i.e., a large number of fluorophores per binding event). PBXL-1 provides a linear response over two orders of magnitude while providing sub-amol sensitivity, indicating broad applicability for detection of a variety of targets. To our knowledge, this is the most sensitive direct fluorescent detection method available.     

Microplate assay for aptamer-based thrombin detection using a DNA-enzyme conjugate based on histidine-tag chemistry

We report a method to prepare a DNA–enzyme conjugate using histidine-tag (His-tag) chemistry. A DNA oligonucleotide was modified with nitrilotriacetate (NTA), whose K_d was approximately 10^?6 (M^?1) toward a His-tag present on a recombinant protein via the complexation of Ni²⁺. His-tagged alkaline phosphatase (His-AP) was used as the model enzyme. Enzyme immobilization on the microplate revealed the conjugation of His-AP and the NTA-modified DNA via an Ni²⁺ complex. SPR measurements also proved the conjugation of His-AP with the NTA-modified DNA via an Ni²⁺ complex. The DNA–enzyme conjugate was then used for the detection of thrombin using a DNA aptamer. The DNA-AP conjugate successfully amplified the binding signal between the DNA aptamer and the thrombin, and the signal was measured as the fluorescent intensity derived from the AP-catalyzed reaction. The detection limit was 11 nM. Finally, we studied the effect of the release of the immobilized His-AP from the microplate on the AP activity, because the present strategy used a cleavable linker for the conjugation and the enzyme immobilization. The DNase-catalyzed release of the immobilized His-AP resulted in a 1.7-fold higher AP activity than observed when the His-AP was surface-immobilized.     

Enhanced detection sensitivity using a novel solid-phase incorporated affinity fluorescent protein biosensor

We engineered green fluorescent protein (GFP) into affinity fluorescent proteins (aFPs) biosensors. The aFPs detect protein-protein interactions by enhanced fluorescence intensity. In a proof of principle demonstration, aFPs containing haemagglutinin (HA) tag bind specifically to the anti-HA antibody. The sensitivity and specificity is enhanced 28-fold by incorporation of aFPs into solid-phase surface.     

Enhanced detection of autoantibodies on protein microarrays using a modified protein digestion technique

High-throughput studies to determine differential immune (humoral) response to diseases are becoming of increasing interest because the information they provide can help in early diagnosis as well as monitoring of therapeutics. Protein microarrays are a high-throughput and convenient technology that can be applied to the study of the humoral response. Proteins can be arrayed on slides and then probed with serum from different classes of patients to observe differences that may exist among autoantibodies that reflect differences in disease states. However, such studies may be difficult to interpret due to the weak overall signal response of such protein microarrays. We propose that this weak signal response is due to the physical positioning of the disease proteins that renders them sterically hindered from binding partners in the serum. In this study, we hypothesize that reducing the complexity and size of the disease proteins by chemical digestion using cyanogen bromide (CNBr) may enhance the overall signal from the humoral response and facilitate visualization of disease-specific responses in various classes of serum. A modified protein microarray methodology using CNBr digestion is presented here. The new workflow was applied to a set of 10 serum samples from healthy subjects, 10 from patients with chronic pancreatitis and 10 from patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and the results were compared to results obtained in the absence of CNBr digestion. CNBr digestion allowed the identification of 10 additional autoantibodies that responded to serum, 5 of which were unique to pancreatitis and cancer sera. This new methodology may increase the sensitivity of microarray studies measuring autoantibodies in serum.     

Arthritis imaging using a near-infrared fluorescence folate-targeted probe

A recently developed near-infrared fluorescence-labeled folate probe (NIR2-folate) was tested for in vivo imaging of arthritis using a lipopolysaccharide intra-articular injection model and a KRN transgenic mice serum induction mouse model. In the lipopolysaccharide injection model, the fluorescence signal intensity of NIR2-folate (n = 12) and of free NIR2 (n = 5) was compared between lipopolysaccharide-treated and control joints. The fluorescence signal intensity of the NIR2-folate probe at the inflammatory joints was found to be significantly higher than the control normal joints (up to 2.3-fold, P < 0.001). The NIR2-free dye injection group showed a persistent lower enhancement ratio than the NIR2-folate probe injection group. Excessive folic acid was also given to demonstrate a competitive effect with the NIR2-folate. In the KRN serum transfer model (n = 4), NIR2-folate was applied at different time points after serum transfer, and the inflamed joints could be detected as early as 30 hours after arthritogenic antibody transfer (1.8-fold increase in signal intensity). Fluorescence microscopy, histology, and immunohistochemistry validated the optical imaging results. We conclude that in vivo arthritis detection was feasible using a folate-targeted near-infrared fluorescence probe. This receptor-targeted imaging method may facilitate improved arthritis diagnosis and early assessment of the disease progress by providing an in vivo characterization of active macrophage status in inflammatory joint diseases.     

In vivo detection of amyloid-beta deposits by near-infrared imaging using an oxazine-derivative probe

As Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis is associated with the formation of insoluble aggregates of amyloid beta-peptide, approaches allowing the direct, noninvasive visualization of plaque growth in vivo would be beneficial for biomedical research. Here we describe the synthesis and characterization of the near-infrared fluorescence oxazine dye AOI987, which readily penetrates the intact blood-brain barrier and binds to amyloid plaques. Using near-infrared fluorescence imaging, we demonstrated specific interaction of AOI987 with amyloid plaques in APP23 transgenic mice in vivo, as confirmed by postmortem analysis of brain slices. Quantitative analysis revealed increasing fluorescence signal intensity with increasing plaque load of the animals, and significant binding of AOI987 was observed for APP23 transgenic mice aged 9 months and older. Thus, AOI987 is an attractive probe to noninvasively monitor disease progression in animal models of Alzheimer disease and to evaluate effects of potential Alzheimer disease drugs on the plaque load.     

Enhanced cellular uptake with a cobaltacarborane-porphyrin-HIV-1 Tat 48-60 conjugate

A series of four porphyrin-cobaltacarborane conjugates have been synthesized, containing three or four cobaltabisdicarbollide anions linked by O(CH(2)CH(2)O)(2) groups to the porphyrin macrocycle and one of them containing a HIV-1 Tat 48-60 peptide sequence linked via a low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacer. The cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and preferential sites of intracellular localization of the conjugates were evaluated in human HEp2 cells. All conjugates are nontoxic in the dark at the concentrations studied. Upon exposure to low light dose (1 J cm(-)(2)) only the porphyrin-cobaltacarborane-HIV-1 Tat 48-60 conjugate showed 30% inhibition of cell proliferation at a concentration of 10 microM. The cellular uptake was dependent on the number of carborane cages and was significantly enhanced by the presence of the cell penetrating peptide sequence HIV-1 Tat 48-60. All conjugates preferentially localized in the cell lysosomes.     

Enhanced detection of staphylococcal genomes in positive blood cultures using a polymeric enzyme complex

This article describes a simple and inexpensive signal amplification method, termed polymeric enzyme detection (PED), which permits rapid and sensitive detection of conserved sequences in the tuf gene that identify Staphylococcus genus, conserved sequences in the femB gene that specifically detect Staphylococcus aureus species, and the methicillin resistance gene mecA directly from positive blood culture bottles. Microbe-specific capture probes were immobilized onto microtiter plates or silicon chips. Target sequences and biotin-labeled, target-specific probes were hybridized to complementary capture probes to create a biotin-labeled, surface-immobilized tripartite complex. In a two-step process, signal was amplified by incubating the surface-immobilized biotin with streptavidin followed by the addition of a 500-kDa dextran polymer conjugated with approximately 80 biotins. Signal was then developed by binding of a streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase conjugate followed by incubation with the substrate tetramethylbenzidine. Use of the PED method improved the lower limit of detection 10- to 100-fold in model DNA hybridization assays with limits of detection as low as 1 fmol/L target DNA. This level of sensitivity permits detection of genomic DNA from methicillin-resistant S. aureus positive blood cultures within 25 to 35 min using either a thin film biosensor chip or a microtiter plate-based assay.     

Enhanced detection method for corneal protein identification using shotgun proteomics

Background  

The cornea is a specialized transparent connective tissue responsible for the majority of light refraction and image focus for the retina. There are three main layers of the cornea: the epithelium that is exposed and acts as a protective barrier for the eye, the center stroma consisting of parallel collagen fibrils that refract light, and the endothelium that is responsible for hydration of the cornea from the aqueous humor. Normal cornea is an immunologically privileged tissue devoid of blood vessels, but injury can produce a loss of these conditions causing invasion of other processes that degrade the homeostatic properties resulting in a decrease in the amount of light refracted onto the retina. Determining a measure and drift of phenotypic cornea state from normal to an injured or diseased state requires knowledge of the existing protein signature within the tissue. In the study of corneal proteins, proteomics procedures have typically involved the pulverization of the entire cornea prior to analysis. Separation of the epithelium and endothelium from the core stroma and performing separate shotgun proteomics using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry results in identification of many more proteins than previously employed methods using complete pulverized cornea.     

Determination of blood folate using acid extraction and internally standardized gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detection

Whole blood folate level is a superior indicator of folate nutritional status than serum/plasma level. Problems with and lack of confidence in results of current whole blood folate assays have limited its popularity for assessing folate nutritional status. Here, an acid extraction GCMS detection method that measures total folate whole blood is presented. Folates are released from the matrix of whole blood and cleaved to para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) by acid hydrolysis in the presence of [(13)C(6)]pABA as internal standard (IS). The hydrolysate is passed over a C18 resin to remove heme. The pABA isotopomers are ethyl esterified, isolated on C18 resin, and trifluoroacetylated. Following normal-phase HPLC separation, the isotopomers are silylated to their tBDMS derivatives. The abundance of these derivatives are measured at m/z 324 for [(13)C(6)]pABA as IS and m/z 318 for pABA from whole blood folate. Our method uses readily available chemicals and our results agree well with those using Lactobacillus casei, the current gold standard reference assay. The presence of folate analogs (methotrexate) or antibacterials (sulfonamines) does not affect our method. This feature makes it useful in monitoring folate status of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Before using our method, pABA supplements must be discontinued for a few days.