Screening and identification of a specific peptide for targeting hypoxic hepatoma cells.

Abstract

The biological behaviors of residual hepatoma cells after transarterial embolization therapy, which exist in a hypoxic or even anaerobic tumor microenvironment, differ from the tumor cells under normoxic conditions. This study aimed to use a phage display peptide library for in vivo and in vitro screening to obtain a peptide which could specifically bind to hypoxic hepatoma cells, allowing further targeted diagnosis and treatment for liver cancer. In this study, hypoxic hepatoma cells HepG2 (targeted cells), and normal liver cells HL-7702 (control cells), were utilized to perform three rounds of in vitro screening using a phage-displayed 7-mer peptide library. In addition, hypoxic HepG2 were subcutaneously injected into nude mice to establish a hepatocarcinoma model, followed by performing three rounds of in vivo screening on the phages identified from the in vitro screening. The products from the screening were further identified using ELISA and immunofluorescence staining on cells and tissues. The results indicated that the P11 positive clone had the highest binding effect with hypoxic hepatoma cells. The sequence of the exogenous insert fragment of P11 positive clone was obtained by sequencing: GSTSFSK. The binding assay indicated that GSTSFSK could specifically bind to hypoxic hepatoma cells and hepatocarcinoma tissues. This 7-mer peptide has the potential to be developed as an useful molecular to the targeting diagnosis and treatment of residual hepatoma cells after transarterial chemoembolization.

• Authors: Yiming Liu, Xiangwen Xia, Yong Wang, Xin Li, Guofeng Zhou, Huiming Liang, Gansheng Feng, Chuansheng Zheng
• Journal: Molecular and cellular probes (Mol Cell Probes) Vol. 30 Issue 4 Pg. 246-253 (08 2016) ISSN: 1096-1194 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 27381416 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Peptide Library
• Peptides

Topics

• Animals
• Binding, Competitive
• Biological Assay
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (drug therapy, pathology)
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
• Fluorescent Antibody Technique
• Hep G2 Cells
• Humans
• Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
• Liver Neoplasms (drug therapy, pathology)
• Mice, Nude
• Microscopy, Fluorescence
• Peptide Library
• Peptides (pharmacology, therapeutic use)
• Protein Binding