Conceived and designed the experiments: DVS DLC RS WT. Performed the experiments: DVS DLC EJ WT. Analyzed the data: DVS DLC KS WT. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: DVS DLC KS EJ RS. Wrote the paper: DVS DLC RS WT.
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological malignancy, and the ovarian clear cell carcinoma subtype (OCCA) demonstrates a particularly poor response to standard treatment. Improvements in ovarian cancer outcomes, especially for OCCA, could be expected from a clearer understanding of the molecular pathology that might guide strategies for earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment.
Cell-SELEX technology was employed to develop new molecular probes for ovarian cancer cell surface markers. A total of thirteen aptamers with Kd's to ovarian cancer cells in the pico- to nanomolar range were obtained. Preliminary investigation of the targets of these aptamers and their binding characteristics was also performed.
We have selected a series of aptamers that bind to different types of ovarian cancer, but not cervical cancer. Though binding to other cancer cell lines was observed, these aptamers could lead to identification of biomarkers that are related to cancer.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women
The most commonly used serum biomarker for clinical diagnosis and prognosis is ovarian cancer antigen 125 (CA-125). The CA-125 value is elevated in approximately 90% of late-stage cases of epithelial ovarian cancer (stages 3 and 4). However, it is only elevated in 50-60% of women with early stage disease and is also elevated in a number of benign conditions
The utilization of aptamers has great potential for the identification of new biomarkers. Aptamers, which are probes capable of specifically binding to cell surface markers expressed by targeted tumor cells
The target specificity and affinity of aptamers are similar to those of antibodies, but with several advantages over antibodies for clinical use. Aptamers may be chemically synthesized in a short time at relatively low cost, allowing better batch-to-batch reproducibility and easier incorporation of chemical modifications. Since aptamers for cells are selected without prior knowledge of the target molecules, selected aptamers can be used to identify new surface markers on cancer cells
In this work, a total of 13 aptamers was selected for two model ovarian cancer cell lines: the OCCA line TOV-21G
Two model ovarian cancer cell lines were chosen for the selection of ovarian cancer aptamers: the OCCA cell line TOV-21G and the ovarian serous adenocarcinoma cell line CAOV-3. In order to identify aptamers that specifically bind to ovarian cancer cells, the cervical cancer cell line HeLa was used for counter-selection. The SELEX procedure for TOV-21G is described briefly below. A detailed description is provided in the experimental section.
To start the selection process, 20 pmol of naive library was enriched by sequential binding to TOV-21G cell monolayers. Sequences showing non-specific binding to general cell surface markers were removed by incubating the enriched pool with HeLa cells (rounds 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 20, 21, 22). The eluted pool for each round of SELEX was amplified through PCR, after which the ssDNA pools of interest were recovered and monitored for enrichment toward TOV-21G by flow cytometry. As the selected pools were enriched with sequences that recognize and bind to the target cell line, an increase in fluorescence signal was observed (
A) The enrichment with TOV-21G cells B) The marginal binding of the respective pools to HeLa cells. By doing counter selection, sequences binding to HeLa were removed.
The negative control in these binding assays was PE/Cy5-labeled random library. C) Cells were incubated with varying concentrations of PE-Cy5-labeled aptamer in duplicate. The fluorescence intensity originating from background binding at each concentration was subtracted from the mean fluorescence intensity of the corresponding aptamer.
Following completion of the selection process, three pools were chosen and submitted for sequencing: the final pool (round 22), the previous pool (round 21) and a pool showing minimal enrichment (round 13). Pool sequencing was used to help identify aptamer candidates by generating large quantities of sequences. This number of sequences (here a minimum of 2000 per pool) is large enough to allow identification of aptamers that only have a small representation in the pool (i.e. less then 1%). As can be seen in
Pool 13 (%) | Pool 21 (%) | Pool 22 (%) | |
7,56 | 1,91 | 2,53 | |
6,43 | 10,84 | 18,62 | |
2,96 | 4,92 | 7,65 | |
9,39 | 15,76 | 26,27 | |
4,05 | 7,97 | 8,74 | |
0,3 | 0,92 | 0,58 |
Rows represent specific aptamers' percentage in the sequenced pools. AptTOVall is the sum of both AptTOV2 and AptTOV2a. AptTOV are aptamers from the SELEX for TOV-21G cells.
Sequences were aligned into families according to sequence homology. The number of homologues was compared across the different sequenced pools to validate their enrichment through the selection procedure using basic bio- informatics. Ten sequences showing the best homology throughout the pools were selected as aptamer candidates, synthesized and tested for binding to the model ovarian cancer cell lines. All the candidates showed binding to TOV-21G, with binding affinities in the pico- to nano-molar range (
Name | Sequence | Kd (nM) | % in pool |
aptTOV1 | 0.25±0.08 | 2,53 | |
aptTOV2 | 0.90±0.25 | 18,62 | |
aptTOV2a | 11±3 | 7,65 | |
aptTOV3 | 30±9 | 8,74 | |
aptTOV4 | 20±5 | 0,52 | |
aptTOV5 | 4.5±1.2 | 0,82 | |
aptTOV6 | 29±7 | 0,58 | |
aptTOV7 | 6.6±2.3 | 0,19 | |
aptTOV8 | 17±3 | 0,76 | |
aptTOV9 | 26±10 | 0,06 | |
DOV 3 | 132±32 | ND | |
DOV 4 | 40±20 | ND | |
DOV 6 | 39±20 | ND |
As shown in
The binding of the selected aptamers was tested with different adenocarcinoma cell lines, as well as other types of cancer cell lines, as shown in
Since both selections took place at 4°C, the selected aptamers were tested at physiological conditions. The aptamers were incubated with the target cell line at 37°C and 4°C and their binding was measured. All aptamers showed similar binding at 4°C and 37°C (e.g., aptTOV1 in
To investigate the nature of the target molecule of each aptamer, binding of each aptamer was tested after treatment of the target cells with the proteases trypsin or proteinase K. As can be seen in
A) No binding was observed for aptTOV1 to trypsinized TOV-21G cells. B) The binding of DOV 3 and 4 to CAOV-3 cells was not affected by protease treatment. All other aptamers showed the same behavior as represented in a).
TOV- 21G | CAOV-3 | HeLa | BCC | H23 | HT-29 | HCT-116 | A172 | Ramos | CEM | HL- 60 | DLD-1 | |
+++ | - | - | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | + | - | - | - | - | |
+++ | - | - | ++ | - | - | ++ | ++ | - | - | - | - | |
+++ | - | + | ++ | + | - | ++ | ++ | - | - | - | - | |
++ | - | - | ++ | + | - | ++ | ++ | - | - | - | - | |
+++ | + | - | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | +++ | - | + | - | - | |
+++ | + | + | +++ | ++ | + | ++ | +++ | - | +++ | - | - | |
+++ | - | - | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | +++ | - | ++ | - | - | |
+++ | - | - | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | +++ | - | ++ | - | - | |
+++ | - | - | +++ | + | - | ++ | +++ | - | + | - | - | |
+++ | - | - | ++ | + | - | ++ | ++ | - | - | - | - | |
++++ | ++++ | +++ | +++ | +++ | +++ | ++++ | ++++ | - | - | - | +++ | |
++++ | ++++ | +++ | ++++ | +++ | +++ | ++++ | ++++ | - | - | - | +++ | |
- | ++ | + | - | - | - | + | + | - | - | - | ++ |
A dash indicates no observed binding to the corresponding cell line. See supplemental
In conclusion, we have selected a series of aptamers with high affinity for ovarian cancer cells, including OCCA (TOV-21G) and serous adenocarcinoma (CAOV-3). By counter selection against HeLa cells, aptamers that can distinguish ovarian cancer from cervical cancer were selected. In particular, AptTOV 1 showed very high affinity towards TOV-21G, with a Kd of 250 pM.
Given the limited number of biomarkers for ovarian cancer currently available, the aptamers obtained from these selections have potential for improving diagnosis and treatment of this deadly disease. Because the aptamers also bind benign cysts (
The discovery of two aptamers that were insensitive to protease digestion is intriguing. Additionally, their binding to all tested adenocarcinoma cells, but not to any of the leukemia cell lines, suggests the potential to further elucidate the underlying molecular differences between these cancer types. Further investigation is warranted to identify the targets of these aptamers and assess their performance in clinical samples.
All oligonucleotides were synthesized by standard phosphoramidite chemistry using a 3400 DNA synthesizer (Applied Biosystems) and were purified by reversed-phase HPLC (Varian Prostar). All PCR mixtures contained 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 2.0 mM MgCl2, dNTPs (each at 2.5 mM), 0.5 µM of each primer, and Hot start Taq DNA polymerase (5units/µL). PCR was performed on a Biorad Thermocycler and all reagents were purchased from Takara. Monitoring of pool enrichment, characterization of the selected aptamers, and identification of the target protein assays were performed by flow cytometric analysis using a FACScan cytometer (BD Immunocytometry Systems). Trypsin and Proteinase K were purchased from Fisher Biotech. The imaging of cells was performed with an Olympus FV500-IX81 confocal microscope (Olympus America Inc., Melville, NY). The DNA sequences were determined by the Genome Sequencing Services Laboratory at the University of Florida with the use of 454 sequencing (Roche).
The CAOV-3, HeLa, Hs832(C)T and TOV-21G cell lines where obtained from the American Type Cell Culture (ATCC). The CAOV-3 and TOV-21G ovarian cancer cell lines where maintained in culture with MCBD 105: Medium 199 (1∶1); the HeLa cell line was cultured in RPMI-1640; and the Hs832(C)T cell line was cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM). All media where supplemented with 10% FBS and 100 UI/mL Penicillin-Streptomycin. Other cell lines used for selectivity assays included CEM (T cell leukemia), Ramos (Burkitt's Lymphoma), HCT-116, DLD-1, HT-29 (colorectal adenocarcinoma), NCI_H23 (non-small cell lung Cancer) and A172 (glioblastoma), all of which were cultured according to ATCC specifications. All cell lines where incubated at 37°C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere.
During the selection, cells were washed before and after incubation with wash buffer (WB), containing 4.5 g/L glucose and 5 mM MgCl2 in Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline with calcium chloride and magnesium chloride (Sigma). Binding buffer (BB) used for selection was prepared by adding yeast tRNA (0.1 mg/mL) (Sigma) and BSA (1 mg/mL) (Fisher) to the wash buffer to reduce background binding.
The HPLC-purified library contained a segment of randomized sequence of 40 nucleotides (nt) flanked by 20-nt primer hybridization sites:
(
In this study, TOV-21G was used as the target cell line and HeLa was used for counter-selection. For the first round, the cells were incubated with 20 pmol of naïve ssDNA library dissolved in BB. For later rounds, 50 pmol of enriched pool were used for incubation, also dissolved in BB. Before incubation, the ssDNA pool was denatured by heating at 95°C for 5 min and was cooled rapidly on ice for 5 min, allowing each sequence to form the most stable secondary structure.
The cells were washed twice (2 min) with WB and incubated with the DNA pool on ice in an orbital shaker for 30 min. In later selection rounds, the cells were washed with increased stringency to remove weakly binding sequences (a larger number of washes and increased washing time, up to 5 min). The bound sequences were eluted in 500 µL BB by heating at 95°C for 15 min, cooled on ice for 5 min and centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 2 min.
The supernatant containing the DNA sequences was then incubated with a negative cell line to perform a subtraction of general sequences, as described above. The remaining sequences were amplified by PCR using the FITC- and biotin-labeled primers. Amplifications were carried out at 95°C for 30 s, 60°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 30 s, followed by final extension for 3 min at 72°C. The selected sense ssDNA was separated from the biotinylated antisense ssDNA by streptavidin-coated sepharose beads (Amersham Bioscience). The ssDNA was eluted from the sepharose beads by melting in a 0.2M NaOH solution.
The enrichment of specific sequences was assayed using flow cytometry as explained below. When the level of enrichment reached a plateau, pools of interest were submitted for sequencing. The aptamer selection for the CAOV3 cell line was performed using the same protocol, however a 1 minute trypsinization step was used to suspend the cells before adding the pools. Supplemental
To determine the binding affinities of the aptamers, the target cells (5×105) were incubated with various concentrations of 5′-biotin labeled aptamers on ice for 20 min in 100 µL of BB. Cells were then washed twice with 500 µL of BB, and suspended in 100 µL of BB containing streptavidin-PE-Cy5.5. Cells were then washed twice with 500 µL of WB, and were suspended in 200 µL of BB for flow cytometric analysis, using a 5′-biotin labeled random sequence as the negative control. All the experiments for binding assays were repeated at least 2 times. The specific binding intensity was calculated by subtraction of the mean fluorescence intensity of the background binding from the mean fluorescence intensity of the aptamers. The equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) of the fluorescent ligand was obtained by fitting a plot of the specific binding intensity versus (Y) the aptamer concentration (X) to the equation Y = BmaxX/(Kd+X) using SigmaPlot. (Jandel, San Rafael, CA). Supplemental
To determine the cell specificity of the selected aptamers, cell lines including HeLa, K562, H23, H69, A172, HL-60. HT-29, Ramos and CEM were used in binding assays by flow cytometry as described above.
The aptamer selection process and all of the binding assays were performed on ice. It has been observed that some of the aptamers selected at lower temperatures may not bind well at 37°C
Target cells (5×105) were detached using non-enzymatic cell dissociation solution. After resuspension, the cells were washed with 3 mL of PBS and then incubated with 1 mL of 0.05% trypsin/0.53 mM EDTA in HBSS or 0.1 mg/mL proteinase K in PBS at 37°C for 1, 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes. Pure FBS was added to quench the proteinases. After washing with 2 mL of BB, the treated cells were used for binding assays as described above.
Allignment of the final TOV pool.
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Allignment of the final CAOV3 pool.
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This file contains the flow data from the figures presented in this article.
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Legend to the amount of pluses. This figure was our guideline to determine the amount of pluses for
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We thank Drs. Parag Parekh and Tahir Bayrac for the many useful scientific discussions that contributed to this work, Mr. George Ansoaunoor for technical help. We also thank Dr. Kathryn Williams for her critical review of the manuscript. We thank the DNA sequencing core, ICBR, at the University of Florida.