Xiangli Bu

Label-Free Quantitative Detection of Tumor-Derived Exosomes through Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging

Exosomes are endosome-derived membrane vesicles carrying proteins and nucleic acids that are involved in cellular functions such as intercellular communication, protein and RNA secretion, and antigen presentation. Therefore, exosomes serve as potential biomarkers for many diseases including cancer. Because exosomes are difficult to enrich or purify from biofluids, quantification of exosomes is tedious and inaccurate. Here, we present a real-time, label-free, and quantitative method to detect and characterize tumor-derived exosomes without enrichment or purification. Utilizing surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) in combination with antibody microarrays specific to the extracellular domains of exosome membrane proteins, exosomes in tumor cell culture medium can be quantitatively detected. We found a positive correlation between the metastatic potential of tumor cell lines and exosome secretion. This method provides an easy, efficient, and novel way to detect exosome secretion and thus an avenue toward the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of cancer.

Quantitative Liver-Specific Protein Fingerprint in Blood: A Signature for Hepatotoxicity

We discuss here a new approach to detecting hepatotoxicity by employing concentration changes of liver-specific blood proteins during disease progression. These proteins are capable of assessing the behaviors of their cognate liver biological networks for toxicity or disease perturbations. Blood biomarkers are highly desirable diagnostics as blood is easily accessible and baths virtually all organs. Fifteen liver-specific blood proteins were identified as markers of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity using three proteomic technologies: label-free antibody microarrays, quantitative immunoblotting, and targeted iTRAQ mass spectrometry. Liver-specific blood proteins produced a toxicity signature of eleven elevated and four attenuated blood protein levels. These blood protein perturbations begin to provide a systems view of key mechanistic features of APAP-induced liver injury relating to glutathione and S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) depletion, mitochondrial dysfunction, and liver responses to the stress. Two markers, elevated membrane-bound catechol-O-methyltransferase (MB-COMT) and attenuated retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), report hepatic injury significantly earlier than the current gold standard liver biomarker, alanine transaminase (ALT). These biomarkers were perturbed prior to onset of irreversible liver injury. Ideal markers should be applicable for both rodent model studies and human clinical trials. Five of these mouse liver-specific blood markers had human orthologs that were also found to be responsive to human hepatotoxicity. This panel of liver-specific proteins has the potential to effectively identify the early toxicity onset, the nature and extent of liver injury and report on some of the APAP-perturbed liver networks.

Abraxane, the Nanoparticle Formulation of Paclitaxel Can Induce Drug Resistance by Up-Regulation of P-gp.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) can actively pump paclitaxel (PTX) out of cells and induces drug resistance. Abraxane, a nanoparticle (NP) formulation of PTX, has multiple clinical advantages over the single molecule form. However, it is still unclear whether Abraxane overcomes the common small molecule drug resistance problem mediated by P-gp. Here we were able to establish an Abraxane-resistant cell line from the lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. We compared the transcriptome of A549/Abr resistant cell line to that of its parental cell line using RNA-Seq technology. Several pathways were found to be up or down regulated. Specifically, the most significantly up-regulated gene was ABCB1, which translates into P-glycoprotein. We verified the overexpression of P-glycoprotein and confirmed its function by reversing the drug resistance with P-gp inhibitor Verapamil. The results suggest that efflux pathway plays an important role in the Abraxane-resistant cell line we established. However, the relevance of this P-gp mediated Abraxane resistance in tumors of lung cancer patients remains unknown.

Microarray Based Screening of Peptide Nano Probes for HER2 Positive Tumor

Peptides are excellent biointerface molecules and diagnostic probes with many advantages such as good penetration, short turnover time, and low cost. We report here an efficient peptide screening strategy based on in situ single bead sequencing on a microarray. Two novel peptides YLFFVFER (H6) and KLRLEWNR (H10) specifically binding to the tumor biomarker human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) with aKD of 10(-8) M were obtained from a 10(5) library. Conjugated to nanoparticles, both the H6 and H10 probes showed specific accumulation in HER2-positive tumor tissues in xenografted mice by in vivo imaging.

Bimodal Imprint Chips for Peptide Screening: Integration of High-Throughput Sequencing by MS and Affinity Analyses by Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging

Peptide probes and drugs have widespread applications in disease diagnostics and therapy. The demand for peptides ligands with high affinity and high specificity toward various targets has surged in the biomedical field in recent years. The traditional peptide screening procedure involves selection, sequencing, and characterization steps, and each step is manual and tedious. Herein, we developed a bimodal imprint microarray system to embrace the whole peptide screening process. Silver-sputtered silicon chip fabricated with microwell array can trap and pattern the candidate peptide beads in a one-well-one-bead manner. Peptides on beads were photocleaved in situ. A portion of the peptide in each well was transferred to a gold-coated chip to print the peptide array for high-throughput affinity analyses by surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi), and the peptide left in the silver-sputtered chip was ready for in situ single bead sequencing by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Using the bimodal imprint chip system, affinity peptides toward AHA were efficiently screened out from the 7 × 10(4) peptide library. The method provides a solution for high efficiency peptide screening.

Rapid Screening of Peptide Probes through In Situ Single-Bead Sequencing Microarray

Peptide ligands as targeting probes for in vivo imaging and drug delivery have attracted great interest in the biomedical community. However, high affinity and specificity screening of large peptide libraries remains a tedious process. Here, we report a continuous-flow microfluidic method for one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial peptide library screening. We screened a library with 2 × 10(5) peptide beads within 4 h and discovered 140 noncanonical peptide hits targeting the tumor marker, aminopeptidase N (APN). Using the Clustal algorithm, we identified the conserved sequence Tyr-XX-Tyr in the N terminal. We demonstrated that the novel sequence YVEYHLC peptides have both nanomolar affinity and high specificity for APN in ex vivo and in vivo models. We envision that the successful demonstration of this integrated novel nanotechnology for peptide screening and identification open a new avenue for rapid discovery of new peptide-based reagents for disease diagnostics and therapeutics.

Label-free detection microarray for novel peptide ligands screening base on MS-SPRi combination.

Peptides ligands with high affinity and high specificity towards specific targets is catching a good deal of interests in biomedical field. Traditional peptide screening procedure involves selection, sequencing and characterization and each step is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The combination between different analytical methods could provide an integrated plan for efficient peptide screening. We report herein a label-free detection microarray system to facilitate the whole one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) peptide screening process. A microwell array chip with two identical units can trap the candidate peptide beads in one-well-one-bead manner. Peptides on beads were photo-released in situ in the well and partly transferred to two identical chips for Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi), and peptide left in the bi-unit microwell array chip was remain for in situ single bead sequencing by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Using the bi-unit imprinted chip system, affinity peptides towards AD protein were efficiently screened out both qualitatively and quantitatively from 10(4) candidates. The method provides a universal solution for high efficiency and high throughput ligands screening.

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Cellular Resistance to the Nanoparticle Abraxane.

Abraxane, an FDA-approved albumin-bound nanoparticle (NP) form of paclitaxel (PTX) to treat breast cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has been demonstrated to be more effective than the original Taxol, the single molecule form. We have established a cell line from NSCLC A549 cells to be resistant to Abraxane. To further understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the NP drug resistance, global protein expression profiles of Abraxane sensitive (A549) and resistant cells (A549/Abr), along with the treatment of Abraxane, have been obtained by a quantitative proteomic approach. The most significantly differentially expressed proteins are associated with lipid metabolism, cell cycle, cytoskeleton, apoptosis pathways and processes, suggesting several mechanisms are working synergistically in A549 Abraxane-resistant cells. Overexpression of proteins in the lipid metabolism processes, such as E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase RNF139 (RNF139) and Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGCS1), have not been reported previously in the study of paclitaxel resistance, suggesting possibly different mechanism between nanoparticle and single molecular drug resistance. In particular, RNF139 is one of the most up-regulated proteins in A549 Abraxane-resistant cell line, but remains no change when the resistant cells were further treated with Abraxane and down-regulated in the sensitive cells after 4 h treatment of Abraxane. This study shows the use of a proteomic strategy to understand the unique response of drug resistant cells to a nanoparticle therapeutic.

HER2 Targeting Peptides Screening and Applications in Tumor Imaging and Drug Delivery.

Herein, computational-aided one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) peptide library design combined with in situ single-bead sequencing microarray methods were successfully applied in screening peptides targeting at human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), a biomarker of human breast cancer. As a result, 72 novel peptides clustered into three sequence motifs which are PYL***NP, YYL***NP and PPL***NP were acquired. Particularly one of the peptides, P51, has nanomolar affinity and high specificity for HER2 in ex vivo and in vivo tests. Moreover, doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded liposome nanoparticles were modified with peptide P51 or P25 and demonstrated to improve the targeted delivery against HER2 positive cells. Our study provides an efficient peptide screening method with a combination of techniques and the novel screened peptides with a clear binding site on HER2 can be used as probes for tumor imaging and targeted drug delivery.

Structure-based Design of Peptides with High Affinity and Specificity to HER2 Positive Tumors.

To identify peptides with high affinity and specificity against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a series of peptides were designed based on the structure of HER2 and its Z(HER2:342) affibody. By using a combination protocol of molecular dynamics modeling, MM/GBSA binding free energy calculations, and binding free energy decomposition analysis, two novel peptides with 27 residues, pep27 and pep27-24M, were successfully obtained. Immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry analysis verified that both peptides can specifically bind to the extracellular domain of HER2 protein at cellular level. The Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi) analysis showed that dissociation constants (KD) of these two peptides were around 300 nmol/L. Furthermore, fluorescence imaging of peptides against nude mice xenografted with SKBR3 cells indicated that both peptides have strong affinity and high specificity to HER2 positive tumors.