Non-invasive imaging of allogeneic transplanted skin graft by 131I-anti-TLR5 mAb

Development and Evaluation of a Novel Radiotracer 125I-rIL-27 to Monitor Allotransplant Rejection by Specifically Targeting IL-27Rα

Noninvasive monitoring of allograft rejection is beneficial for the prognosis of patients with organ transplantation. Recently, IL-27/IL-27Rα was proved in close relation with inflammatory diseases, and 125I-anti-IL-27Rα mAb our group developed demonstrated high accumulation in the rejection of the allograft. However, antibody imaging has limitations in the imaging background due to its large molecular weight. Therefore, we developed a novel radiotracer (iodine-125-labeled recombinant IL-27) to evaluate the advantage in the targeting and imaging of allograft rejection. In vitro specific binding of 125I-rIL-27 was determined by saturation and competitive assay. Blood clearance, biodistribution, phosphor autoradioimaging, and IL-27Rα expression were studied on day 10 after transplantation (top period of allorejection). Our results indicated that 125I-rIL-27 could bind with IL-27Rα specifically and selectively in vitro. The blood clearance assay demonstrated fast blood clearance with 13.20 μl/h of 125I-rIL-27 staying in the blood after 24 h. The whole-body phosphor autoradiography and biodistribution assay indicated a higher specific uptake of 125I-rIL-27 and a clear radioimage in allograft than in syngraft at 24 h, while a similar result was obtained at 48 h in the group of 125I-anti-IL-27Rα mAb injection. Meanwhile, a higher expression of IL-27Rα was found in the allograft by Western blot. The accumulation of radioactivity of 125I-rIL-27 was highly correlated with the expression of IL-27Rα in the allograft. In conclusion, 125I-rIL-27 could be a promising probe for acutely monitoring allograft rejection with high specific binding towards IL-27Rα on allograft and low imaging background.

TLR5: A prognostic and monitoring indicator for triple-negative breast cancer

A novel, highly selective biomarker is urgently needed to predict and monitor triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) because targeting molecules are not currently available. Although associated with various malignant tumors, the role of toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) in TNBC remains uncertain. We aimed to define the effects of TLR5 in TNBC to determine whether it could serve as a prognostic and monitoring indicator for TNBC. We established TNBC cell line 4T1 with low TLR5 expression (GFP tag; TLR5⁻ 4T1) and with normal TLR5 expression (GFP tag; TLR5⁺ 4T1) using lentivirus-shRNA-TLR5 knockdown transfection and negative lentivirus transfection, respectively. Detected by western blot and qPCR, we found knockdown of TLR5 resulted in decreased expression of TLR5 and E-cadherin and increased expression of N-cadherin, vimentin, fibronectin, TRAF6, SOX2, and Twist1, which were related to EMT (epithelial–mesenchymal transition). In addition, downregulation of TLR5 increased the invasion and migration of 4T1 cells in vitro, which were investigated by CCK-8 and wound healing, as well as transwell assay and colony formation. Furthermore, the metastatic ability of TLR5⁻ 4T1 cells to the lungs was also increased compared to TLR5⁺ 4T1 cells in vivo. To verify the effect of TLR5 as a monitor indicator, mice bearing TLR5⁺ and TLR5⁻ 4T1 tumors injected with ¹²⁵I-anti-TLR5 mAb or isotype ¹²⁵I-IgG were assessed by whole body phosphor-autoradiography and fluorescence imaging in vivo. Phosphor-autoradiography of model mice revealed early tumors at 6 days after inoculation with TLR5⁺ 4T1, but not TLR5⁻ 4T1 cells. Intratumoral accumulation of radioactivity positively correlated with TLR5 expression, and fluorescence imaging in vivo revealed both TLR5⁺ and TLR5⁻ 4T1 tumors. Our results suggested that downregulation of TLR5 in TNBC increased tumor invasiveness and EMT expression via TRAF6 and SOX2 pathway and TLR5 could serve as a prognostic and monitoring indicator for TLR5-positive tumors.

TLR5 is a new reporter for triple-negative breast cancer indicated by radioimmunoimaging and fluorescent staining

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive tumour that lacks marker for targeted diagnosis. Recently, it was reported that toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) was associated with some kind of tumours, especially in TNBC, but whether it could be used as a non-invasive monitoring target is not fully understood. Here, we established TLR5- 4T1 cell line with lentivirus-shRNA-TLR5 knock-down transfection (with tag GFP, green fluorescent protein, TLR5- 4T1) and control TLR5+ 4T1 cell line with negative control lentivirus transfection. The effect of TLR5 down-regulation was detected with qPCR and Western blot. 125 I-anti-TLR5 mAb and control isotype 125 I-IgG were prepared and injected to TLR5+/- 4T1-bearing mice models, respectively. Whole-body phosphor-autoradiography, fluorescence imaging and biodistribution were performed. Furthermore, ex vivo tumour TLR5 expression was proved through immunohistochemistry staining. We found that 125 I-anti-TLR5 mAb could bind to TLR5+ 4T1 with high affinity and specificity. Whole-body phosphor-autoradiography after 125 I-anti-TLR5 mAb injection showed TLR5+ 4T1 tumour images in 24 hours, more clearly in 48 hours. Radioactivities in tumour tissues were positively related with TLR5 expression. Biodistribution assay showed that 125 I-anti-TLR5 mAb was mainly metabolized through the liver and kidney, and 125 I-anti-TLR5 mAb was much more accumulated in TLR5+ 4T1 tumour than TLR5- 4T1. In vivo fluorescence imaging successfully showed tumour tissues clearly both in TLR5+ and TLR5- 4T1 mice compared with lentivirus untreated 4T1 tumour. Immunohistochemistry staining showed that TLR5 expression in tumours was indeed down-regulated in TLR5- 4T1 mice. Our results indicated that 125 I-antiTLR5 mAb was an ideal agent for non-invasive imaging of TLR5+ tumours; TLR5 may be as a novel molecular target for TNBC non-invasive diagnosis.

Anti‑migratory effect of rapamycin impairs allograft imaging by 18F‑fluorodeoxyglucose‑labeled splenocytes

Tracking lymphocyte migration is an emerging strategy for non‑invasive nuclear imaging of allografts; however, its clinical application remains to be fully demonstrated. In the present study, the feasibility of using rapamycin‑treated 18F‑fluorodeoxyglucose (18F‑FDG)‑labeled splenocytes for the in vivo imaging of allografts was evaluated. C57BL/6 skin was heterotopically transplanted onto non‑obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient recipient mice. BALB/c 18F‑FDG‑labeled splenocytes with or without rapamycin pretreatment (designated as FR and FC cells, respectively) were transferred into recipient mice 30 days later. Imaging of radiolabeled cells in the skin grafts was conducted through in vivo dynamic whole‑body phosphor‑autoradiography and histological analysis. Notably, rapamycin impaired the migration of 18F‑FDG‑labeled splenocytes to the graft. At all time points, the radioactivity of allografts (digital light units/mm2) was significantly lower in the group that received FR cells, compared with the group that received FC cells (P<0.01). Furthermore, the peak allograft to native skin ratio was 1.29±0.02 at 60 min for the FR group and 3.29±0.17 at 30 min for the FC group (P<0.001). In addition, the in vivo radioactivity of the allografts was observed to be correlated with the transferred cells, which were observed histologically (r2=0.887; P<0.0001). Although 18F‑FDG‑labeled splenocytes migrated to the allograft, imaging of these cells may not be possible in the presence of rapamycin.