MULTIPLEXED MOLECULAR PROFILING OF PROSTATE CANCER SPECIMENS USING SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM DOT BIOCONJUGATES

摘要

Quantum dots (QDs) are light emitting semi-conductor nanocrystals with novel optical properties including superior photostability, narrow emission spectra with continuous excitation spectra. These properties make QDs especially suitable for multiplexed fluorescent labeling, live cell imaging, and in vivo animal imaging. The multiplexing potential has been recognized but real applications of biological/clinical significance are few. In this study, we used quantum dots to study epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), an important process involved in the bone metastasis of prostate cancer.Two prostate cancer cells lines with distinct molecular profiles, representing the two ends of the EMT process, were selected for this study. Four EMT-related biomarkers including E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, and RANKL were stained with QD-antibody conjugates with elongation factor 1 alpha as the internal control. Morphological information of the QD-stained cells was obtained by digital-color imaging and quantitative information obtained by spectra analysis using a spectrometer. Two types of analysis were performed: abundance of each biomarker in the same cell line relative to the internal control; and the relative abundance of these markers between the two cell lines. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of QDs for multiplexed profiling of FFPE cells/tissue of clinical significance; however, the standardization and quantification still awaits optimization.