Quantum Dot- Conjugated Anti-GRP78 scFv Inhibits Cancer Growth in Mice

Autor: David Hornby, Sven Christian, Lizhi Liu, Nicola J. Brown, Weiming Xu
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Molecules, Vol 17, Iss 1, Pp 796-808 (2012)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1420-3049
DOI: 10.3390/molecules17010796
Popis: Semiconductor quantum dots (Qdots) have recently been shown to offer significant advantages over conventional fluorescent probes to image and study biological processes. The stability and low toxicity of QDs are well suited for biological applications. Despite this, the potential of Qdots remains limited owing to the inefficiency of existing delivery methods. By conjugating Qdots with small antibody fragments targeting membrane-bound proteins, such as GRP78, we demonstrate here that the Quantum dot- Anti-GRP78 scFv (Qdot-GRP78) retains its immunospecificity and its distribution can be monitored by visualization of multi-color fluorescence imaging both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover we demonstrate here for the first time that Qdot-GRP78 scFv bioconjugates can be efficiently internalized by cancer cells, thus upregulate phophosphate-AKT-ser473 and possess biological anti-tumour activity as shown by inhibition of breast cancer growth in a xenograft model. This suggests that nanocarrier-conjugated scFvs can be used as a therapeutic antibody for cancer treatment.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals