Introduction
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers all over the world and the leading cause of cancer-related death in males in many countries. About 1.8 million new PCa cases were reported in 2016 (Siegel et al.
2016). Radical resection based on early diagnosis is the key to survival of cancer patients (Helmstaedter and Riemann
2008). However, the early diagnosis and resection rate of PCa is only about 10–20% at present (Bilimoria et al.
2008). Prostate biopsy performed by real-time image-guided transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) is the golden criterion for PCa diagnosis (Baur et al.
2017). Unfortunately, systematic biopsies usually have to be performed due to insufficient visualization of PCa on brightness-mode TRUS. This poor visuality results in the poor detection rate and incorrect diagnosis of insignificant cancers (Shakir et al.
2017; Welch and Albertsen
2009; Ahmed et al.
2017; Ukimura et al.
2013; Washington et al.
2012).
With advances in material science and technology, ultrasonic contrast agents have been designed to meet different requirements by using polymers, capsids, and liposomes (Paefgen et al.
2015). However, most of these ultrasound contrast agents are unstable under insonification pressure and distribute widely with poor circulating acoustic contrast properties (Hahn et al.
2011; Kiessling et al.
2012). Recently, inorganic ultrasonic imaging materials have aroused increasing attention and interest due to their regulator particle size, good biocompatibility, and superior stability compared with the conventional contrast agents (Chen et al.
2012. Of these inorganic materials, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been reported as a more promising ultrasound contrast material due to their unique structure and properties (Delogu et al.
2012; Wu et al.
2014). As we all know, tumor has enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR). Nanoparticles can passively target tumors through the EPR effect of tumors. So MWCNTs can target to the tumor passively to diagnosis tumor. When MWCNTs were modified with ligand, it can target to the specific tumor, which improved the accuracy and sensitivity of diagnosis.
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSAM) is a specific membrane protein expressed by PCa cells and its expression is positively correlated with PCa aggression. Studies have shown that PSMA is highly expressed in metastatic PCa androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC) (Ristau et al.
2014). Currently, many anti-PSAM ligands including monoclonal antibodies, programmed antibodies, and small molecular substances have been reported (Wang et al.
2013; Xiao et al.
2015). Nucleic acid aptamers are some nucleotide fragments that can specifically combine proteins or other small molecules screened by vitro SELEX screening technology. They were found to have high affinity and good specificity to target ligands (Xiao et al.
2016). As RNA nucleic acid is composed of nucleotide and has many structural alterations and strong specificity, it is often used in molecular imaging and gene therapy (Pai and Ellington
2009; McNamara et al.
2006; Baek et al.
2014; Chu et al.
2006; Mathew et al.
2015). In addition, nucleic acid as a targeted probe can avoid immunogenicity, and its high purity makes it safer than other ligands (Dougherty et al.
2015; Alibolandi et al.
2015; Lee et al.
2011). Early aptamers A10 and A9 were selected from the synthetic RNA aptamer sequences and effectively connected to the PSMA (Rockey et al.
2011; Wu et al.
2011). However, they are composed of 79 nucleotides. This high molecular weight severely limits its targeting ability. The A10-3.2 aptamer used in this study was composed of 37 nucleotides with a greatly reduced molecular weight but without affecting its targeting ability (Rockey et al.
2011; Wu et al.
2011).
Based on the above research background and foundation, we developed a new nanoultrasound contrast agent by modifying MWCNTs with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and PSMA targeted aptamer A10-3.2 and evaluated its cytological characteristics, targeting ability, safety, developing ability, metabolism, and distribution both in vivo and in vitro. The results showed that the new ultrasound nanocontrast agent had a good targeting ability and was able to detect early-stage PCa.
Materials and methods
Materials
Materials used in this study were MWCNTs (length 400 nm, diameter 15 nm) (Cheap Tubes Inc., Brattleboro, VT, USA); NH2-PEG-COOH (polyethylene glycol modified by amino and carboxyl) (MW: 2000) (BO Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Jiaxing, China); EDC(1-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride) and NHS (N-Hydroxysuccinimide;1-hydroxypyrrolidine-2,5-dione) (Aladdin Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China); Coumarin 6 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, MA,USA); 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO,USA); Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM), fetal bovine serum (FBS), and penicillin-streptomycin solution (5 kU/mL) (Life Technologies, Grand Island, USA); Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) (Dojindo Molecular Technologies Inc., Nanjing, China); and anti-PSMA aptamer (sequence 5′-GGGAGGACGAUGCGGAUCAGCCAUGUUUACGUCACUCCU-3′ with 5′ modification of amino group) (RiboBio Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, China).
All other reagents were of analytical grade. All animal experiments were performed in accordance with the ethics and regulations of animal experiments of the Second Military Medical University (Shanghai, China).
Cell lines and culture
PC-3 cells overexpressing PSMA (SBO Medical Biotechnology, Shanghai, China) were cultured in RPMI 1640 with 10% FBS and 1% penicillin-streptomycin, and incubated under 5% CO2 atmosphere at 37 °C.
Animals
Male BALB/c nude mice (4 weeks) were supplied by the Department of Experimental Animals of the Second Military Medical University. The animal experimental procedures were in agreement with the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China).
Synthesis of CNT-PEG-Ap
To stabilize MWCNTs in a solution, PEG-coated MWCNTs were prepared, given the highly hydrophobic surface of MWCNTs.
Pristine nanotubes were initially oxidized to obtain MWCNT-COOH. Briefly, a mixture of concentrated nitric acid and sulfuric acid (1:3, v/v, 80 ml) was added to MWCNTs (2 g), put in an ultrasonic bath (40 kHz) at 40 °C for 7 h, and stirred for additional 24 h at room temperature to complete the reaction. After that, 500 ml pure water was added to the mixture. The MWCNTs functionalized with carboxylic acid group were separated from the solution by centrifugation, washed with water, and dried by lyophilization.
To prepare CNT-PEG, MWCNT-COOH (30 mg) was dispersed in 150 ml methanol, and then 0.3 g N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and 0.2 g N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) were added to the solution to obtain MWCNT-COOH. Three hours after stirring at room temperature, the activated MWCNT-COOH was separated from the solution by centrifugation, rinsed with methanol repeatedly, and then dried by lyophilization. After that, 10 mg NH2-PEG-COOH was added to the activated MWCNT-COOH solution (containing 20 mg MWCNT-COOH and 50 ml methanol), followed by another 24-h stirring. The resulting CNT-PEG-COOH was separated, washed, and dried by lyophilization.
For conjugation of the aptamer, MWCNT-PEG-COOH (10 mg) was dispersed in 10 mL phosphate buffered saline (PBS), followed by addition of 0.15 g EDC and 0.1 g NHS to the solution to activate MWCNT-PEG-COOH for 3 h. Then 50 nM Anti-PSMA aptamer with 5′ modification of amino group was added to the solution and stirred for 24 h at room temperature. Then, MWCNT-PEG-Ap was separated by centrifugation, rinsed with pure water repeatedly, and dried by lyophilization.
Characterization of the complex
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) (Agilent Cary 670, Australia) was used to determine the synthesized polymers. The particle size and zeta potential of MWCNT-PEG-Ap were determined using dynamic light scattering (Zetasizer Nano ZS90, Malvern Instruments, USA). The morphology of MWCNT-PEG-Ap was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan) at an acceleration voltage of 75 kV.
Flow cytometry
MWCNT-PEG-Ap was labeled with Coumarin 6. Briefly, MWCNT-PEG-Ap was incubated with Coumarin 6 in methanol for 6 h under dark conditions. The Coumarin 6-loaded MWCNT-PEG-Ap (MWCNT-PEG-Ap/Coumarin 6) was collected by centrifugation and washed 3 times to remove the excess Coumarin 6. PC-3 cells overexpressing PSMA were cultured in a 12-well plate at 2 × 105 cells per well and incubated for 24 h for in vitro study. Then the culture medium was replaced, and different concentrations of MWCNT-PEG-Ap/Coumarin 6 were added. After 3-h incubation, cells were washed, collected, and analyzed on a FACScan flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA, USA).
Fluorescent imaging in cells
PC-3 cells were plated in glass-base dishes at a density of 1.0 × 105 per dish and incubated for 24 h. Then, the medium was replaced with 0.5 ml fresh medium containing MWCNT-PEG-Ap/Coumarin 6 or an equivalent concentration of free Coumarin 6 (100 ng/mL). After 3-h incubation, cells were washed three times with PBS and fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde. After staining with DAPI, the cells were washed and observed under a confocal laser scanning microscope (Olympus, Japan).
In vitro cytotoxicity
The cytotoxicity of MWCNT-PEG-Ap on PC-3 cells was performed using CCK-8 assay. Briefly, PC-3 cells (5 × 103 cell/well) were seeded in 96-well plates and incubated for 24 h. Then the culture medium was replaced by fresh medium containing different concentrations of MWCNT-PEG-Ap for 24 h, followed by addition of 10 μl CCK-8 solution to each well. After 2-h incubation, the absorbance was measured with a microplate reader (Thermo, IL, USA) at 450 nm. The cell viability was expressed as a percentage relative to the absorbance of the untreated samples.
In vitro US imaging analysis
Ultrasound images in vitro with PBS control, MWCNTs, and MWCNT-PEG-Ap were carried out on the Mylab 90 scanner (Esaote Medical Systems, Genova, Italy) under the parameters of frequency = 6.0 MHz and medical index = 0.06. Typically, the Eppendorf tube (2 mL) was filled with PBS solution of a constant concentration of samples, and then the tube was immerged in a pure water tank. The transducer was coated with the US gel to avoid air background. All images were recorded as digital files for subsequent playback and analysis.
In vivo US imaging
In vivo US imaging was performed in the BALB/c xenograft nude mice models. The models were generated by subcutaneous injection of 1 × 107 PC-3 cells. When the diameter of the tumor reached 0.8–1.0 cm, the mice were randomly divided into three groups. All the mice were anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection of 2% pentobarbital and then intravenously injected with 200 μl (a) PBS, (b) MWCNT-PEG, or (c) MWCNT-PEG-Ap (10 mg/kg per injection) respectively via the tail vein. Images of the tumor, heart, and kidney were taken at 1, 8, and 24 h after injection.
Statistical analysis
Line charts were made by GraphPad Prism 5.0. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0. All data were compared and analyzed using the paired-sample Student’s t test. P < 0.05 indicated statistical significance.
Conclusion
In this study, we acidified MWCNTs and linked them to PEG to improve their water solubility and stability. Finally, nucleic acid was attached to the surface of these nanotubes to further enhance their targeting ability and biocompatibility.
This new type of nanoultrasonic imaging material is safe and stable with a good targeting ability, showing a good clinical transformation potential (Carson et al.
2011; Kohler et al.
2005). More importantly, this new ultrasound contrast agent had a strong targeted development effect both in vivo and ex vivo. It mainly metabolized through the kidney without showing cardiopulmonary distribution. This study not only demonstrated a good ability of the new contrast agent in targeting PCa cells but provides a new approach and way of thinking in developing targeted contrast agents. In addition, since the nucleotide itself is a sequence of nucleotides, it can be inserted into anthracyclines or linked with other therapeutic genes (Justin P Dassie et al.
2009; Xu et al.
2013; Dhar et al.
2011; Kim et al.
2010). Moreover, the MWCNTs described here in had a large hydrophobic cavity and therefore could wrap many hydrophobic drugs (Sahoo et al.
2018; Kim et al.
2017). These features can be used to prepare multi-functional ultrasound contrast agents for diagnosis and treatment.