Hoe Suk Kim

In vivo Imaging of Tumor Transduced with Bimodal Lentiviral Vector Encoding Human Ferritin and Green Fluorescent Protein on a 1.5T Clinical Magnetic Resonance Scanner

A combination of reporter genes for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical imaging can provide an additional level of noninvasive and quantitative information about biological processes occurring in deep tissues. We developed a bimodal lentiviral vector to monitor deep tissue events using MRI to detect myc-tagged human ferritin heavy chain (myc-hFTH) expression and fluorescence imaging to detect green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression. The transgene construct was stably transfected into MCF-7 and F-98 cells. After transplantation of the cells expressing myc-hFTH and GFP into mice or rats, serial MRI and fluorescence imaging were performed with a human wrist coil on a 1.5T MR scanner and optical imaging analyzer for 4 weeks. No cellular toxicity due to overexpression of myc-hFTH and GFP was observed in MTT and trypan blue exclusion assays. Iron accumulation was observed in myc-hFTH cells and tumors by Prussian blue staining and iron binding assays. The myc-hFTH cells and tumors had significantly lower signal intensities in T(2)-weighted MRI than mock-transfected controls (P ≤ 0.05). This is direct evidence that myc-hFTH expression can be visualized noninvasively with a 1.5T clinical MR scanner. This study shows that MRI and fluorescence imaging of transplanted cells at molecular and cellular levels can be performed simultaneously using our bimodal lentiviral vector system. Our techniques can be used to monitor tumor growth, metastasis, and regression during cell and gene-based therapy in deep tissues.

The effects of clinically used MRI contrast agents on the biological properties of human mesenchymal stem cells.

This study was undertaken to compare the labeling efficiencies of three iron‐oxide based MRI contrast agents [Feridex, Resovist and monocrystalline iron oxide (MION)] and to evaluate their effects on the biological properties of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The hMSCs were cultivated for 1 and 7 days after 24‐h labeling with iron oxide nanoparticles (12.5u2009µg Fe/mL) in the presence of poly‐L‐lysine (0.75u2009µg/mL). The hMSCs were labeled more efficiently with use of Feridex, Resovist as compared to MION. No significant differences were observed in terms of viability and proliferation of labeled hMSCs. The level of Oct‐4 mRNA increased in labeled hMSCs at day 1 and the cellular phenotype changed from CD45‐/CD44+/CD29+ to CD45low/CD44+/CD29+ at day 7, which closely resembles the phenotype of fresh bone marrow‐derived hMSCs. Our study has demonstrated that the Feridex or Resovist is the preferred labeling agent for hMSCs. There was a change in Oct‐4 and CD45 expression after labeling. Copyright

O-GlcNAc modification of PPARγ reduces its transcriptional activity

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is a key regulator of adipogenesis and is important for the homeostasis of the adipose tissue. The β-O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modification, a posttranslational modification on various nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins, is involved in the regulation of protein function. Here, we report that PPARγ is modified by O-GlcNAc in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Mass spectrometric analysis and mutant studies revealed that the threonine 54 of the N-terminal AF-1 domain of PPARγ is the major O-GlcNAc site. Transcriptional activity of wild type PPARγ was decreased 30% by treatment with the specific O-GlcNAcase (OGA) inhibitor, but the T54A mutant of PPARγ did not respond to inhibitor treatment. In 3T3-L1 cells, an increase in O-GlcNAc modification by OGA inhibitor reduced PPARγ transcriptional activity and terminal adipocyte differentiation. Our results suggest that the O-GlcNAc state of PPARγ influences its transcriptional activity and is involved in adipocyte differentiation.

Imaging and quantification of metastatic melanoma cells in lymph nodes with a ferritin MR reporter in living mice

Cellular MRI with a reporter gene offers the opportunity to track small numbers of tumor cells and to study metastatic processes in their earliest developmental stages in the target organs of interest. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the MR reporter ferritin for the noninvasive imaging and quantification of metastatic melanoma cells in the lymph nodes (LNs) of living mice. A B16F10 murine melanoma cell line expressing human ferritin heavy chain (hFTH) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) was constructed to allow the detection of cells by MRI and fluorescence imaging. Stable overexpression of hFTH and GFP in B16F10 murine melanoma cells was feasible and showed no cellular toxicity. In addition, hFTH cells were detectable by 9.4‐T MRI inu2009vitro and inu2009vivo, yielding significant changes in T2* relative to control cells. In BALB/c nude mice, the presence of hFTH‐ and GFP‐expressing metastatic melanoma cells in deep‐seated axillary LNs was demonstrated as areas of low T2* on MRI, but the same LNs were not visible by fluorescence imaging because the light was unable to penetrate the tissue. Furthermore, the metastatic volume of each LN, which was assessed by cumulative histogram analysis of the T2* MRI data, correlated well with tumor burden, which was determined by histology (ru2009=u2009−0.8773, pu2009=u20090.0001). This study is the first to use MRI and an MR reporter gene for both the visualization and quantification of metastatic cancer cells in LNs. Copyright

Excessive O-GlcNAcylation of proteins suppresses spontaneous cardiogenesis in ES cells.

Increased modification of proteins with O‐linked N‐acetylglucosamine (O‐GlcNAc) has been implicated in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. We used the well‐characterized ES cells (Nkx2.5GFP knock‐in ES cells), to investigate the role of O‐GlcNAcylation in cardiomyocyte development. O‐GlcNAcylation decreased in differentiating ES cells, as did the expression of O‐GlcNAc transferase. Increasing O‐GlcNAcylation with glucosamine or by inhibiting N‐acetylglucosaminidase (streptozotocin or PUGNAc) decreased the number of cardiomyocyte precursors and cardiac‐specific gene expression. On the other hand, decreasing O‐GlcNAcylation with an inhibitor of glutamine fructose‐6‐phosphate amidotransferase (6‐diazo‐5‐oxo‐norleucine) increased cardiomyocyte precursors. These results suggest that excessive O‐GlcNAcylation impairs cardiac cell differentiation in ES cells.

Noninvasive identification of viable cell populations in docetaxel-treated breast tumors using ferritin-based magnetic resonance imaging.

Background Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are highly tumorigenic and are responsible for tumor progression and chemoresistance. Noninvasive imaging methods for the visualization of CSC populations within tumors in vivo will have a considerable impact on the development of new CSC-targeting therapeutics. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, human breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) transduced with dual reporter genes (human ferritin heavy chain [FTH] and enhanced green fluorescence protein [EGFP]) were transplanted into NOD/SCID mice to allow noninvasive tracking of BCSC-derived populations. No changes in the properties of the BCSCs were observed due to ferritin overexpression. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed significantly different signal intensities (R2* values) between BCSCs and FTH-BCSCs in vitro and in vivo. In addition, distinct populations of pixels with high R2* values were detected in docetaxel-treated FTH-BCSC tumors compared with control tumors, even before the tumor sizes changed. Histological analysis revealed that areas showing high R2* values in docetaxel-treated FTH-BCSC tumors by MRI contained EGFP+/FTH+ viable cell populations with high percentages of CD44+/CD24− cells. Conclusions/Significance These findings suggest that ferritin-based MRI, which provides high spatial resolution and tissue contrast, can be used as a reliable method to identify viable cell populations derived from BCSCs after chemotherapy and may serve as a new tool to monitor the efficacy of CSC-targeting therapies in vivo.

In vivo magnetic resonance imaging of transgenic mice expressing human ferritin.

ObjectiveThis study aims to produce the transgenic mice (TG) engineered for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies based on the ubiquitous expression of ferritin MRI reporter gene in diverse tissues.ProceduresTransgenic mice (TG) expressing myc-tagged human heavy chain ferritin (myc-hFTH) under the control of a ubiquitous CAG promoter were produced. The expression of myc-hFTH in diverse tissues of the myc-hFTH TG was assessed by RT-PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. The iron accumulation and the deposition of ferritin aggregates in tissues of myc-hFTH TG and WT were analyzed by Prussian blue staining and transmission electron microscopy. The myc-hFTH TG (nu2009=u20099) and wild-type mice (WT) (nu2009=u20094) were subjected to MRI on 9.4xa0T MR scanner. An eight-point T2* mapping was performed using a multiple gradient echo sequence, and T2* value was estimated pixel by pixel by using a routine least-squares fitting algorithm.ResultsWe generated the myc-hFTH TG expressing myc-hFTH in brain, heart, liver, lung, spleen, pancreas, kidney, and intestine. The myc-hFTH TG showed no apparent pathological symptoms and no histological changes compared to WT. The expression of myc-hFTH in the brain and liver tissues of myc-hFTH TG led to a significant decrease in T2* values, as shown by noninvasive MRI, compared to WT (Pu2009<u20090.05, TG vs. WT).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that the novel myc-hFTH TG, which expresses an MRI reporter in many tissues, would be a valuable animal model of FTH-based molecular imaging in which to study potential therapies for cell and tissue grafting using an MRI technique. These mice could also serve to study disease related with iron metabolism.

Cardiac transcription factor Nkx2.5 is downregulated under excessive O-GlcNAcylation condition.

Post-translational modification of proteins with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) is linked the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. We investigated whether Nkx2.5 protein, a cardiac transcription factor, is regulated by O-GlcNAc. Recombinant Nkx2.5 (myc-Nkx2.5) proteins were reduced by treatment with the O-GlcNAcase inhibitors STZ and O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucopyroanosylidene)-amino-N-phenylcarbamate; PUGNAC) as well as the overexpression of recombinant O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT-flag). Co-immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that myc-Nkx2.5 and OGT-flag proteins interacted and myc-Nkx2.5 proteins were modified by O-GlcNAc. In addition, Nkx2.5 proteins were reduced in the heart tissue of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice and O-GlcNAc modification of Nkx2.5 protein increased in diabetic heart tissue compared with non-diabetic heart. Thus, excessive O-GlcNAcylation causes downregulation of Nkx2.5, which may be an underlying contributing factor for the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Assessment of Lymph Node Metastases by Contrast-Enhanced MR Imaging in a Head and Neck Cancer Model

Objective We wanted to investigate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced MR imaging for the detection of lymph node metastases in a head and neck cancer rabbit model. Materials and Methods The metastatic lymph node model we used was created by inoculating VX2 tumors into the auricles of six New Zealand White rabbits. T1-weighted MR images were obtained before and after injecting gadopentetate dimeglumine at three weeks after tumor cell inoculation. The sizes, signal intensity ratios (i.e., the postcontrast signal intensities of the affected nodes relative to the adjacent muscle) and the enhancement patterns of 36 regional lymph nodes (parotid and caudal mandibular nodes) were evaluated on MR images and then compared with the histopathologic findings. Results No statistical difference was found between the sizes of 12 metastatic (10.5±3.2 mm) and 24 hyperplastic (8.0±3.6 mm) lymph nodes (p > 0.05). On the contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR images, nine metastatic and four hyperplastic lymph nodes had peripheral high and central low signal intensity, whereas three metastatic and 20 hyperplastic lymph nodes had homogeneous high signal intensity. Using a signal intensity ratio less than one as a diagnostic criterion for a metastatic lymph node, the sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values of the enhanced MR images were 75% (9/12), 83% (20/24), 69% (9/13) and 87% (20/23), respectively, with areas under receiver-operating-characteristic curve values of 0.81. Conclusion This experimental study confirms that metastatic and hyperplastic lymph nodes can be differentiated using MR images on the basis of the contrast uptake patterns, but that they cannot be differentiated using any particular size criteria.

Real-Time Imaging of the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Using microRNA-200a Sequence-Based Molecular Beacon-Conjugated Magnetic Nanoparticles

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays important roles in tumor progression to metastasis. Thus, the development of an imaging probe that can monitor transient periods of the EMT process in live cells is required for a better understanding of metastatic process. Inspired by the fact that the mRNA expression levels of zinc finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) increase when cells adopt mesenchyme characteristics and that microRNA-200a (miR-200a) can bind to ZEB1 mRNA, we conjugated molecular beacon (MB) mimicking mature miR-200a to magnetic nanoparticles (miR-200a-MB-MNPs) and devised an imaging method to observe transitional changes in the cells during EMT. Transforming growth factor-β1 treated epithelial cells and breast cancer cell lines representing both epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes were used for the validation of miR-200a-MB-MNPs as an EMT imaging probe. The real-time imaging of live cells acquired with the induction of EMT revealed an increase in fluorescence signals by miR-200a-MB-MNPs, cell morphology alterations, and the loss of cell-cell adhesion. Our results suggest that miR-200a-MB-MNPs can be used as an imaging probe for the real-time monitoring of the EMT process in live cells.