Name: monitoring eif4f assembly by measuring eif4e-eif4g interaction in live cells
Uploaded: 2020-05-01T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Monitoring eIF4F Assembly by Measuring eIF4E-eIF4G Interaction in Live Cells at JoVE.com

This work was supported by core budget from the p53lab (BMSI, A*STAR) and the JCO VIP grant (A*STAR).

HEK293 cell line was used for the protocol and was cultured in Dulbecco&#39;s Modified Eagle Medium supplemented with 10% Fetal Bovine Serum, 2 mM L-glutamine, and 100 U/mL penicillin/streptomycin. Cells were cultured at 37 &#176;C with 5% CO2 in a humidified environment.
1. Quantitative assessment of eIF4F complex disruption via eIF4E:eIF4G604-646 complementation assay
<ol>
	<li>Cell culture and transient transfection of eIF4E:eIF4G604-646 complementation as...

<ol>
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W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Molecular+Mechanism+of+translational+control.">Molecular Mechanism of translational control.</a> Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 10, 827-835 (2004).</li><li>Bhat, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Targeting+the+translation+machinery+in+cancer.">Targeting the translation machinery in cancer.</a> Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 14 (4), 261-278 (2015).</li><li>Pelletier, J., Graff, J., Ruggero, D., Sonenberg, N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Targeting+the+eIF4F+translation+initiation+complex:+a+critical+nexus+for+cancer+development.">Targeting the eIF4F translation initiation complex: a critical nexus for cancer development.</a> Cancer Research. 75 (2), 250-263 (2015).</li><li>Montanaro, L., Pandolfi, P. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Initiation+of+mRNA+translation+in+oncogenesis:+the+role+of+eIF4E.">Initiation of mRNA translation in oncogenesis: the role of eIF4E.</a> Cell Cycle. 11, 1387-1389 (2004).</li><li>Merrick, W. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=eIF4E:+A+retrospective.">eIF4E: A retrospective.</a> Journal of Biological Chemistry. 290 (40), 24091-24099 (2015).</li><li>Marcotrigiano, J., Gingras, A. C., Sonenberg, N., Burley, S. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cap-dependent+translation+initiation+in+eukaryotes+is+regulated+by+a+molecular+mimic+of+eIF4G.">Cap-dependent translation initiation in eukaryotes is regulated by a molecular mimic of eIF4G.</a> Molecular Cell. 3 (6), 707-716 (1999).</li><li>Umenaga, Y., Paku, K. S., In, Y., Ishida, T., Tomoo, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+and+function+of+the+second+eIF4E-binding+region+in+N-terminal+domain+of+eIF4G:+comparison+with+eIF4E-binding+protein.">Identification and function of the second eIF4E-binding region in N-terminal domain of eIF4G: comparison with eIF4E-binding protein.</a> Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communication. 414 (3), 462-467 (2011).</li><li>Gr&#252;ner, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Structures+of+eIF4E-eIF4G+Complexes+Reveal+an+Extended+Interface+to+Regulate+Translation+Initiation.">The Structures of eIF4E-eIF4G Complexes Reveal an Extended Interface to Regulate Translation Initiation.</a> Molecular Cell. 64 (3), 467-479 (2016).</li><li>Gingras, A. C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hierarchical+phosphorylation+of+the+translation+inhibitor+4E-BP1.">Hierarchical phosphorylation of the translation inhibitor 4E-BP1.</a> Genes and Development. 15 (21), 2852-2864 (2001).</li><li>Dixon, A. S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=NanoLuc+Complementation+Reporter+Optimized+for+Accurate+Measurement+of+Protein+Interactions+in+Cells.">NanoLuc Complementation Reporter Optimized for Accurate Measurement of Protein Interactions in Cells.</a> ACS Chemical Biology. 11 (2), 400-408 (2016).</li><li>Sun, S. Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=mTOR+kinase+inhibitors+as+potential+cancer+therapeutic+drugs.">mTOR kinase inhibitors as potential cancer therapeutic drugs.</a> Cancer Letters. 340 (1), 1-8 (2013).</li><li>Strober, W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Trypan+blue+exclusion+test+of+cell+viability.">Trypan blue exclusion test of cell viability.</a> Current Protocols in Immunology. , (2001).</li><li>Sekiyama, N., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Molecular+mechanism+of+the+dual+activity+of+4EGI-1:+Dissociating+eIF4G+from+eIF4E+but+stabilizing+the+binding+of+unphosphorylated+4E-BP1.">Molecular mechanism of the dual activity of 4EGI-1: Dissociating eIF4G from eIF4E but stabilizing the binding of unphosphorylated 4E-BP1.</a> Proceedings of the National Academy of Science U. S. A. 112 (30), e4036-e4045 (2015).</li><li>Muller, D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=4E-BP+restrains+eIF4E+phosphorylation.">4E-BP restrains eIF4E phosphorylation.</a> Translation. 1 (2), e25819 (2013).</li><li>Frosi, Y., Usher, R., Lian, D. T. G., Lane, D. P., Brown, C. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Monitoring+flux+in+signalling+pathways+through+measurements+of+4EBP1-mediated+eIF4F+complex+assembly.">Monitoring flux in signalling pathways through measurements of 4EBP1-mediated eIF4F complex assembly.</a> BMC Biology. (1), 40 (2019).</li><li>Ran, X., Gestwicki, J. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Inhibitors+of+protein-protein+interactions+(PPIs):+An+analysis+of+scaffold+choices+and+buried+surface+area.">Inhibitors of protein-protein interactions (PPIs): An analysis of scaffold choices and buried surface area.</a> Current Opinion in Chemical Biology. 44, 75-86 (2018).</li></ol>

The method described in this article utilizes a luciferase-based complementation assay to quantitatively monitor eIF4F complex assembly through direct measurement of eIF4G-eIF4E interaction in live cells. We have provided details for use of eIF4E-eIF4G complementation system and we have also showed that the system is extremely accurate in measuring drug-induced 4EBP1-mediated dissociation of eIF4E-eIF4G interaction16. In order to facilitate the throughput of this&#160;assay, the experimental setup...

Control of gene expression plays a pivotal role in the correct execution of cellular programs such as growth proliferation and differentiation. A regulatory control mechanism can be exerted either at the level of gene transcription or at the level of mRNA translation. In the last decade, it has become increasingly evident that translational control by modulation of the initiation process rather than the later steps of elongation and termination can finely regulate synthesis of specific subsets of proteins that play a wide range of biological functions.
Increased translation of mRNAs involved in survival, anti-autophagic and anti-apoptotic responses have been implicated in several cancers and have also been causatively linked to either aberrant activation or over expression of translation initiation factors1.
The eIF4F complex is a master regulator of translation initiation. By binding the cap-structure on the 5&#39; end of mRNAs, eIF4F is driving initial mRNA-ribosome recruitment and in turn increasing mRNA translation efficiency of weakly translated eukaryotic mRNAs2. eIF4F mediated translation of cancer-related mRNAs has been reported for many cancer models harboring aberrant activation of RAS/MAPK or AKT/TOR pathways, suggesting that cancer cells upregulate eIF4F to boost their own pro-neoplastic activity. Disruption of this feed-forward loop by inhibiting eIF4F complex formation is thereby a very promising therapeutic strategy3,4.
The eIF4F complex consists of (i) eIF4E, the cap-binding subunit of eIF4F that interacts with the cap structure found at the 5&#39; UTR of mRNA, (ii) eIF4A, the RNA helicase and (iii) eIF4G, the scaffold protein that interacts with both eIF4A and eIF4E and which eventually recruits the 40S ribosomal subunit5. eIF4G association with eIF4E is the rate-limiting step for the assembly of functional eIF4F complexes and it is negatively regulated by the eIF4E binding proteins (4EBPs, members 1, 2 and 3))6. By competing with eIF4G binding to eIF4E through an interface that consists of canonical and non-canonical eIF4E binding sequences7,8,9 (region spanning aa 604-646 on human eIF4E), 4EBP reduces the pool of eIF4E actively involved in translation and preventing eIF4F complex formation. Interplay of these protein-protein interactions is mainly regulated by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated phosphorylation of 4EBP. Upon mitogenic stimuli, mTOR directly phosphorylates the members of the 4E-BP protein family, decreasing their association with eIF4E and, thereby, promoting eIF4E-eIF4G interaction and formation of functional eIF4F complexes10.
Despite the great effort in developing compounds targeting eIF4F complex integrity, the lack of assays measuring direct disruption of eIF4E-eIF4G interaction in live cells has limited the search for cellular active hit compounds. We have applied a luciferase assay based on a coelenterazine analog (e.g., Nanoluc-based complementation assay) to monitor in real time the status of eIF4F integrity through the eIF4E-eIF4G interaction. The luciferase complementation protein system consists of an 18 kDa protein fragment (SubA) and 11 amino acid peptide fragment (SubB) optimized for minimal self-association and stability11.&#160;Once expressed as a fusion product with the human full length eIF4E and the eIF4E interaction domain from human eiF4G1 (aa 604-646), the two interacting proteins will bring the SubA and SubB fragment into close proximity of each other and will induce the formation of the active luciferase that, in presence of a cell permeable substrate, will eventually generate a bright luminescent signal (Figure 1). We have reported elsewhere the construction and validation of the eIF4E:eIF4G604-646 complementation system16.
Here, we describe how the eIF4E:eIF4G604-646 complementation system (available upon request) can be applied to accurately measure 4EBP1-mediated eIF4E-eIF4G disruption in live cells. Additionally, we demonstrate its utility by measuring the effects of several mTOR inhibitors that are currently under clinical trials as potential cancer therapeutic drugs12. Because off-target&#160;effects often mask drug-specific activity, we also describe how the versatility of the eIF4E:eIF4G604-646 system measurement can be extended with orthogonal measurements of cellular viability to take these into account.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>293FT cells</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>R70007</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell culture microplate 96 well, F-Bottom</td>
			<td>greiner bio-one</td>
			<td>655083</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell titer Glo 2.0</td>
			<td>PROMEGA</td>
			<td>G9241</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Envision Multilabel Reader</td>
			<td>PerkinElmer</td>
			<td>not applcable</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Finnpipette F2 Multichannel Pipettes 12-channels 30-300 ml</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4662070</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Finnpipette F2 Multichannel Pipettes 12-channels 5-50 ml</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>4662050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FUGENE6</td>
			<td>PROMEGA</td>
			<td>E2692</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lipofectamine 3000</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td><a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/L3000015" target="_blank">L3000015</a></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NanoBiT PPI Starter Systems</td>
			<td>PROMEGA</td>
			<td>N2014</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Optimem I Reduced Serum Mediun, no phenol red</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>11058021</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Orbital shaker</td>
			<td>Eppendorf</td>
			<td>not appicable</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&#947;-Aminophenyl-m7GTP (C10-spacer)-Agarose</td>
			<td>Jena Bioscience</td>
			<td>AC-155S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

monitoring eif4f assembly by measuring eif4e-eif4g interaction in live cells

Formation of the eIF4F complex has been shown to be the key downstream node for the convergence of signalling pathways that often undergo&#160;oncogenic activation in humans. eIF4F is a cap-binding complex involved in the mRNA-ribosome recruitment phase of translation initiation. In many cellular and pre-clinical model of cancers, the deregulation of eIF4F leads to increased translation of specific mRNA subsets that are involved in cancer proliferation and survival. eIF4F is a hetero-trimeric complex built from the cap-binding subunit eIF4E, the helicase eIF4A and the scaffolding subunit eIF4G. Critical for the assembly of active eIF4F complexes is the protein-protein interaction between eIF4E and eIF4G proteins. In this article, we describe a protocol to measure eIF4F assembly that monitors the status of eIF4E-eIF4G interaction in live cells. The eIF4e:4G cell-based protein-protein interaction assay also allows drug induced changes in eIF4F complex integrity to be accurately and reliably assessed. We envision that this method can be applied for verifying the activity of commercially available compounds or for further screening of novel compounds or modalities that efficiently disrupt formation of eIF4F complex.

In order to validate the sensitivity of the eIF4E:eIF4G604-646 complementation system, 4EBP1 mediated inhibition of eIF4F complex assembly was assessed by using mTOR inhibitors. By inhibiting mTORC1 kinase dependent phosphorylation of the 4EBP protein family, mTOR inhibition enhances 4EBP1 association to eIF4E and, therefore, eIF4F disassembly15. Two classes of mechanistically different inhibitor of mTOR kinases were tested: rapalogs (e.g., Rapamycin) th...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Monitoring eIF4F Assembly by Measuring eIF4E-eIF4G Interaction in Live Cells at JoVE.com

Monitoring eIF4F Assembly by Measuring eIF4E-eIF4G Interaction in Live Cells

Here, we present a protocol to measure eIF4E-eIF4G interaction in live cells that would enable the user to evaluate drug induced perturbation of eIF4F complex dynamics in screening formats.

Formation of the eIF4F complex has been shown to be the key downstream node for the convergence of signalling pathways that often undergo&#160;oncogenic ...

The regulation of the eIF4F complex signaling is associated with increased translation of mRNA subset that are involved in cancer proliferation and survival. Here we describe an eIF4E-eIF4G cell-based protein-protein interaction assays that enables us to assess drug-induced perturbation in eIF4F complex integrity in live cells. There is a growing interest in the development of modalities that efficiently target protein-protein interface.We envisioned that our eIF4E-eIF4G PPI assays will help in fostering these strategies and validate them. This assay will provide an optimal primary scheme for it to lead optimization of eIF4E-eIF4G inhibitors. Seeding the cell correctly and performing the transfer transfection are the most challenging aspect of this product since they may reflect directly on the suppression of the PPI reporting system.After thawing and counting cells, seed 6 well plates with HEK 293 cells, using 2 milliliters of standard growth medium per well. On the morning of day 2, for each planed transfection, dilute 9 microliters of liposome-based solution in a tube containing 125 microliters of reduced serum medium without phenol red. While the diluted liposomes incubate at room temperature for 5 minutes, prepare the master mix of DNA by diluting 3 micrograms of each plasmid in 125 microliters of reduced serum medium for each transfection tube.Add 12 microliters of enhancer reagents to the DNA master mix 2, then mix well. Immediately add this mixture to each tube of diluted liposomes in a ratio of 1 to 1. After incubating this DNA lipid complex for 15 minutes at room temperature, add the complex to each well of the 6 well plates.Incubate the cells at 37 degrees Celsius with 5%carbon dioxide for 24 hours. On the morning of day 3, rinse each well with 1 milliliter of PBS, and add 0.3 milliliters of trypsin. Incubate the plates at 37 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes.After incubation, neutralize the trypsin by adding 2 milliliters to each well of the reduced serum medium without phenol red. Transfer the transfected cells into a 15 milliliter tube. Next, centrifuge the cells at 290x G for 5 minutes.Aspirate the medium, and re-suspend the cell pellet in 2 milliliters of the reduced serum medium. Seed the transfected HEK 293 cells in 96-well opaque plates, at a density of 30, 000 cells per well in 90 microliters of medium. To obtain 3 technical replicates for 3 different compounds within the same experiment, seed 60 wells.Exclude the wells on the edges. Immediately after seeding the transfected cells, add 10 microliters of 10%DMSO compound solution to each well. Prepare 1 millimolar compound stock solutions by dissolving each compound of interest in 100%DMSO.In order to have 3 replicates for each compound titration, use 8 microliters of the 1 millimolar compound stock solution. Perform a two-fold serial dilution of each stock compound solution in 8 wells of a 96-well PCR plate by pipetting 4 microliters of the 1 millimolar stock into 4 microliters of 100%DMSO for each titration point. Discard the excess 4 microliters after the last point of the two-fold serial dilution.Add 36 microliters of HPLC grade sterile water to each tube to prepare 40 microliters of 10x compound serial dilution solutions in 10%DMSO. Also, prepare a control. 10%DMS only stock solution in HPLC grade sterile water.Add 10 microliters of 10x working solutions to the cells in the 96-well opaque plate in order to yield the intended final concentration, with a residual DMSO concentration of 1%Incubate the plate at 37 degrees Celsius with 5%carbon dioxide for 3 hours. After 3 hours, start preparing the luciferase substrate reagent by combining 1 volume of substrate with 19 volumes of the dilution reagent. Use a multi-channel pipette to immediately add 25 microliters of the substrate reagent to each well of the 96 well plate with the cells.Shake the plate on an orbital shaker at 350 RPM, for 50 minutes at room temperature. To assess luminescence, place the plate on a plate reader. Set the mirror reader to luminescence and the emission filter to 455.Use a measurement height of 6.5 millimeters with a measurement time of 1 second. To assess cell viability, add 33 microliters of viability assay reagent to each well. After 15 minutes at room temperature, assess luminescence with the plate reader by setting the mirror reader to luminescence and the emission filter to 600.Use a measurement height of 6.5 millimeters and a measurement time of 1 second. Use the data from the plate reader to determine the IC 50 value of each compound, by curve-fitting the data to the 4-parameter fitting curve equation described in the manuscript. HEK 293 cells were transfected with the eIF4E-eIF4G complementation system, and then receded and treated with mTOR inhibitors.When luminescence was assessed 4 hours after treatment, PP242 and rapamycin both produced a dose-dependent inhibition of the signal. Neither PP242 nor rapamycin produced a significant decrease in cell viability, indicating that the decrease in luminescence in the eIF4E-eIF4G complementation system is not due to non-specific cell death, but rather to disruption of the EIF4E-4G interaction. Western blot analysis, following m7GTP pull down experiment, showed that 4EBP1 mediated disruption of endogenous eIF4E-eIF4G interaction correlates with the measured eIF4E-eIF4G assay signal.PP242 was a more potent inhibitor of total 4EBP1 phosphorylation than rapamycin. Both inhibitors showed an impact on mTOR signaling normally, with rapamycin being more active against mTORC1 substrates, and PP242 targeting both mTORC1 and mTORC2. The most critical aspect of this product are seeding the cells on the day of transaction, re-seeding the cells in a medium without phenol red, assessing the luminescence of the eIF4E-eIF4G complementation assay, and run in the viability assay on the same plate.A secondary viability assay can be performed to assess any drug of target and known specific effects.

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Research

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Cancer Research

Comprehensive Protocol to Sample and Process Bone Marrow for Measuring Measurable Residual Disease and Leukemic Stem Cells in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Response criteria in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has recently been re-established, with morphologic examination utilized to determine whether patients have achieved complete remission (CR). Approximately half of the adult patients who entered CR will relapse within 12 months due to the outgrowth of residual AML cells in the bone marrow. The quantitation of these remaining leukemia cells, known as minimal or measurable residual disease (MRD), can be a robust biomarker for the prediction of these relapses. Moreover, retrospective analysis of several studies has shown that the presence of MRD in the bone marrow of AML patients correlates with poor survival. Not only is the total leukemic population, reflected by cells harboring a leukemia associated immune-phenotype (LAIP), associated with clinical outcome, but so is the immature low frequency subpopulation of leukemia stem cells (LSC), both of which can be monitored through flow cytometry MRD or MRD-like approaches. The availability of sensitive assays that enable detection of residual leukemia (stem) cells on the basis of disease-specific or disease-associated features (abnormal molecular markers or aberrant immunophenotypes) have drastically improved MRD assessment in AML. However, given the inherent heterogeneity and complexity of AML as a disease, methods for sampling bone marrow and performing MRD and LSC analysis should be harmonized when possible. In this manuscript we describe a detailed methodology for adequate bone marrow aspirate sampling, transport, sample processing for optimal multi-color flow cytometry assessment, and gating strategies to assess MRD and LSC to aid in therapeutic decision making for AML patients.

Detection of minimal or measurable residual disease (MRD) is an important prognostic biomarker for refining risk assessment and predicting relapse in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These comprehensive guidelines and recommendations with best practices for consistent and accurate identification and detection of MRD, may aid in making effective AML treatment decisions.

Response criteria in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has recently been re-established, with morphologic examination utilized to determine whether patients ...

Preparation of Primary Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells in Different Cell Cycle Phases by Centrifugal Elutriation

The ability to synchronize cells has been central to advancing our understanding of cell cycle regulation. Common techniques employed include serum deprivation; chemicals which arrest cells at different cell cycle phases; or the use of mitotic shake-off which exploits their reduced adherence. However, all of these have disadvantages. For example, serum starvation works well for normal cells but less well for tumor cells with compromised cell cycle checkpoints due to oncogene activation or tumor suppressor loss. Similarly, chemically-treated cell populations can harbor drug-induced damage and show stress-related alterations. A technique which circumvents these problems is counterflow centrifugal elutriation (CCE), where cells are subjected to two opposing forces, centrifugal force and fluid velocity, which results in the separation of cells on the basis of size and density. Since cells advancing through the cycle typically enlarge, CCE can be used to separate cells into different cell cycle phases. Here we apply this technique to primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Under optimal conditions, an essentially pure population of cells in G1 phase and a highly enriched population of cells in G2/M phases can be obtained in excellent yield. These cell populations are ideally suited for studying cell cycle-dependent mechanisms of action of anticancer drugs and for other applications. We also show how modifications to the standard procedure can result in suboptimal performance and discuss the limitations of the technique. The detailed methodology presented should facilitate application and exploration of the technique to other types of cells.

This protocol describes the use of centrifugal elutriation to separate primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells into different cell cycle phases.

The ability to synchronize cells has been central to advancing our understanding of cell cycle regulation. Common techniques employed include serum ...

Determination of Protein Expression Level in Cultured Cells by Immunocytochemistry on Paraffin-embedded Cell Blocks

Immunofluorescent staining is currently the method of choice for determination of protein expression levels in cell-culture systems when morphological information is also necessary. The protocol of immunocytochemical staining on paraffin-embedded cell blocks, presented herein, is an excellent alternative to immunofluorescent staining on non-paraffin-embedded fixed cells. In this protocol, a paraffin cell block from HeLa cells was prepared using the thromboplastin-plasma method, and immunocytochemistry was performed for the evaluation of two proliferation markers, CKAP2 and Ki-67. The nuclei and cytoplasmic morphology of the HeLa cells were well preserved in the cell-block slides. At the same time, the CKAP2 and Ki-67 staining patterns in the immunocytochemistry were quite similar to those in immunohistochemical staining in paraffin cancer tissues. With modified cell-culture conditions, including pre-incubation of HeLa cells under serum-free conditions, the effect could be evaluated while preserving architectural information. In conclusion, immunocytochemistry on paraffin-embedded cell blocks is an excellent alternative to immunofluorescent staining.

Currently, immunofluorescent staining on fixed cells is the method of choice for determination of protein expression levels when morphological information is also necessary. This protocol presented herein provides for an alternative method of immunocytochemistry on paraffin-embedded cell blocks.

Immunofluorescent staining is currently the method of choice for determination of protein expression levels in cell-culture systems when morphological ...

A Spheroid Killing Assay by CAR T Cells

Immunotherapy has become a field of growing interest in the fight against cancer otherwise untreatable. Among all immunotherapeutic methods, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) redirected T cells obtained the most spectacular results, in particular with pediatric B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Classical validation methods of CAR T cells rely on the use of specificity and functionality assays of the CAR T cells against target cells in suspension and in xenograft models. Unfortunately, observations made in vitro are often decoupled from results obtained in vivo and a lot of effort and animals could be spared by adding another step: the use of 3D culture. The production of spheroids out of potential target cells that mimic the 3D structure of the tumor cells when they are engrafted into the animal model represents an ideal alternative. Here, we report an affordable, reliable and easy method to produce spheroids from a transduced colorectal cell line as a validation tool for adoptive cell therapy (exemplified here by CD19 CAR T cells). This method is coupled with an advanced live imaging system that can follow spheroid growth, effector cells cytotoxicity and tumor cell apoptosis.

This protocol is designed to assess immunotherapeutic redirected T-cell (CAR T-cell) cytotoxicity against 3D structured cancerous cells (spheroids) in real time.

Immunotherapy has become a field of growing interest in the fight against cancer otherwise untreatable. Among all immunotherapeutic methods, chimeric ...

Detection and Monitoring of Tumor Associated Circulating DNA in Patient Biofluids

Complications associated with upfront and repeat surgical tissue sampling present the need for minimally invasive platforms capable of molecular sub-classification and temporal monitoring of tumor response to therapy. Here, we describe our dPCR-based method for the detection of tumor somatic mutations in cell free DNA (cfDNA), readily available in&#160;patient biofluids. Although limited in the number of mutations that can be tested for in each assay, this method provides a high level of sensitivity and specificity. Monitoring of mutation abundance, as calculated by MAF, allows for the evaluation of tumor response to therapy, thereby providing a much-needed supplement to radiographic imaging.

Here, we present a protocol to detect tumor somatic mutations in circulating DNA present in patient biological fluids (biofluids). Our droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR)-based method enables quantification of the tumor mutation allelic frequency (MAF), facilitating a minimally invasive complement to diagnosis and temporal monitoring of tumor response.

Complications associated with upfront and repeat surgical tissue sampling present the need for minimally invasive platforms capable of molecular ...

Semi-automatic PD-L1 Characterization and Enumeration of Circulating Tumor Cells from Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients by Immunofluorescence

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) derived from the primary tumor are shed into the bloodstream or lymphatic system. These rare cells (1&#8722;10 cells per mL of blood) warrant a poor prognosis and are correlated with shorter overall survival in several cancers (e.g., breast, prostate and colorectal). Currently, the anti-EpCAM-coated magnetic bead-based CTC capturing system is the gold standard test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for enumerating CTCs in the bloodstream. This test is based on the use of magnetic beads coated with anti-EpCAM markers, which specifically target epithelial cancer cells. Many studies have illustrated that EpCAM is not the optimal marker for CTC detection. Indeed, CTCs are a heterogeneous subpopulation of cancer cells and are able to undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) associated with metastatic proliferation and invasion. These CTCs are able to reduce the expression of cell surface epithelial marker EpCAM, while increasing mesenchymal markers such as vimentin. To address this technical hurdle, other isolation methods based on physical properties of CTCs have been developed. Microfluidic technologies enable a label-free approach to CTC enrichment from whole blood samples. The spiral microfluidic technology uses the inertial and Dean drag forces with continuous flow in curved channels generated within a spiral microfluidic chip. The cells are separated based on the differences in size and plasticity between normal blood cells and tumoral cells. This protocol details the different steps to characterize the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression of CTCs, combining a spiral microfluidic device with customizable immunofluorescence (IF) marker set.

The characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a popular topic in translational research. This protocol describes a semi-automatic immunofluorescence (IF) assay for PD-L1 characterization and enumeration of CTCs in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient samples.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) derived from the primary tumor are shed into the bloodstream or lymphatic system. These rare cells (1&#8722;10 cells per mL ...

In Vitro Assay to Study Tumor-macrophage Interaction

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) account for a large percentage of cells in the tumor mass for different types of cancers. Glioblastoma (GBM), a malignant brain tumor with no cure, has up to a half the tumor mass TAMs. TAMs can be pro-tumoral or anti-tumoral, depending on the activation of specific genes in the cells. Genetic mutations in the tumors, through regulating cytokine expression, can affect recruitment of TAMs to the tumor microenvironment. Here, we describe a quantitative cell-based assay to assess macrophage recruitment by the conditioned medium from the tumor cells. This assay uses the human macrophage cell line MV-4-11 to study macrophage attraction by the conditioned medium from glioblastoma, allowing for high reproducibility and low variability. Data generated with this assay can contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between the tumor and the tumor microenvironment. Similar assay can be used to assess interaction between the tumor cells and other immune cells, including T cells and natural killer (NK) cells.

This article represents a useful in vitro assay to evaluate the capability of conditioned medium from tumor cells to attract macrophages.

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) account for a large percentage of cells in the tumor mass for different types of cancers. Glioblastoma (GBM), a ...

Measuring Real-time Drug Response in Organotypic Tumor Tissue Slices

Tumor tissues are composed of cancerous cells, infiltrated immune cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix. This complex milieu constitutes the tumor microenvironment (TME) and can modulate response to therapy in vivo or drug response ex vivo. Conventional cancer drug discovery screens are carried out on cells cultured in a monolayer, a system critically lacking the influence of TME. Thus, experimental systems that integrate sensitive and high-throughput assays with physiological TME will strengthen the preclinical drug discovery process. Here, we introduce ex vivo tumor tissue slice culture as a platform for medium-high-throughput drug screening. Organotypic tissue slice culture constitutes precisely-cut, thin tumor sections that are maintained with the support of a porous membrane in a liquid-air interface. In this protocol, we describe the preparation and maintenance of tissue slices prepared from mouse tumors and tumors from patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. To assess changes in tissue viability in response to drug treatment, we leveraged a biocompatible luminescence-based viability assay that enables real-time, rapid, and sensitive measurement of viable cells in the tissue. Using this platform, we evaluated dose-dependent responses of tissue slices to the multi-kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, and cytotoxic agent, doxorubicin. Further, we demonstrate the application of tissue slices for ex vivo pharmacology by screening 17 clinical and preclinical drugs on tissue slices prepared from a single PDX tumor. Our physiologically-relevant, highly-sensitive, and robust ex vivo screening platform will greatly strengthen preclinical oncology drug discovery and treatment decision making.&#160;

We introduce a protocol for measuring real-time drug response in organotypic tumor tissue slices. The experimental strategy outlined here provides a platform to carry out medium-high throughput drug screens on tissue slices derived from clinical or mouse tumors in ex vivo conditions.

Tumor tissues are composed of cancerous cells, infiltrated immune cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix. This complex milieu ...

Monitoring Cancer Cell Invasion and T-Cell Cytotoxicity in 3D Culture

Significant progress has been made in treating cancer with immunotherapy, although a large number of cancers remain resistant to treatment. A limited number of assays allow for direct monitoring and mechanistic insights into the interactions between tumor and immune cells, amongst which, T-cells play a significant role in executing the cytotoxic response of the adaptive immune system to cancer cells. Most assays are based on two-dimensional (2D) co-culture of cells due to the relative ease of use but with limited representation of the invasive growth phenotype, one of the hallmarks of cancer cells. Current three-dimensional (3D) co-culture systems either require special equipment or separate monitoring for invasion of co-cultured cancer cells and interacting T-cells.
Here we describe an approach to simultaneously monitor the invasive behavior in 3D of cancer cell spheroids and T-cell cytotoxicity in co-culture. Spheroid formation is driven by enhanced cell-cell interactions in scaffold-free agarose microwell casts with U-shaped bottoms. Both T-cell co-culture and cancer cell invasion into type I collagen matrix are performed within the microwells of the agarose casts without the need to transfer the cells, thus maintaining an intact 3D co-culture system throughout the assay. The collagen matrix can be separated from the agarose cast, allowing for immunofluorescence (IF) staining and for confocal imaging of cells. Also, cells can be isolated for further growth or subjected to analyses such as for gene expression or fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Finally, the 3D co-culture can be analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) after embedding and sectioning. Possible modifications of the assay include altered compositions of the extracellular matrix (ECM) as well as the inclusion of different stromal or immune cells with the cancer cells.

The presented approach simultaneously evaluates cancer cell invasion in 3D spheroid assays and T-cell cytotoxicity. Spheroids are generated in a scaffold-free agarose multi-microwell cast. Co-culture and embedding in type I collagen matrix are performed within the same device which allows to monitor cancer cell invasion and T-cell mediated cytotoxicity.

Significant progress has been made in treating cancer with immunotherapy, although a large number of cancers remain resistant to treatment. A limited ...

In Vitro Evaluation of Oncogenic Transformation in Human Mammary Epithelial Cells

Tumorigenesis is a multi-step process in which cells acquire capabilities&#160;that allow their growth, survival, and dissemination under hostile conditions. Different tests seek to identify and quantify these hallmarks of cancerous cells; however, they often focus on a single aspect of cellular transformation and, in fact, multiple tests are required for their proper characterization. The purpose of this work is to provide researchers with a set of tools to assess cellular transformation in vitro from a broad perspective, thereby making it possible to draw sound conclusions.
A sustained proliferative signaling activation is the major feature of tumoral tissues and can be easily monitored under in vitro conditions by calculating the number of population doublings achieved over time. Besides, the growth of cells in 3D cultures allows their interaction with surrounding cells, resembling what occurs in vivo. This enables the evaluation of cellular aggregation and, together with immunofluorescent labeling of distinctive cellular markers, to obtain information on another relevant feature of tumoral transformation: the loss of proper organization. Another remarkable characteristic of transformed cells is their capacity to grow without attachment to other cells and to the extracellular matrix, which can be evaluated with the anchorage assay.
Detailed experimental procedures to evaluate cell growth rate, to perform immunofluorescent labeling of cell lineage markers in 3D cultures, and to test anchorage-independent cell growth in soft agar are provided. These methodologies are optimized for Breast Primary Epithelial Cells (BPEC) due to its relevance in breast cancer; however, procedures can be applied to other cell types after some adjustments.

This protocol provides experimental in vitro tools to evaluate the transformation of human mammary cells. Detailed steps to follow-up cell proliferation rate, anchorage-independent growth capacity, and distribution of cell lineages in 3D cultures with basement membrane matrix are described.