Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2018; 24(3): 351-359
Published online Jan 21, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i3.351
Epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted immune magnetic liposomes capture circulating colorectal tumor cells efficiently
Jing-Hua Kuai, Qing Wang, Ai-Jun Zhang, Jing-Yu Zhang, Zheng-Feng Chen, Kang-Kang Wu, Xiao-Zhen Hu
Jing-Hua Kuai, Qing Wang, Ai-Jun Zhang, Jing-Yu Zhang, Zheng-Feng Chen, Kang-Kang Wu, Department of Gastroenterology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Qingdao 266035, Shandong Province, China
Xiao-Zhen Hu, Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Qingdao 266035, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Kuai JH, Wang Q, Zhang AJ, Zhang JY, Chen ZF, Wu KK, and Hu XZ designed the research; Kuai JH, Wang Q, and Hu XZ performed the research; Zhang AJ and Zhang JY contributed new reagents/analytic tools; Kuai JH, Chen ZF, and Wu KK analyzed the data; and Kuai JH and Hu XZ wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that there is no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Xiao-Zhen Hu, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, No. 758, Hefei Road, Qingdao 266035, Shandong Province, China. hu.xz@qilu.edu.com
Telephone: +86-532-66850782 Fax: +86-532-66850532
Received: September 8, 2017
Peer-review started: September 8, 2017
First decision: September 20, 2017
Revised: November 27, 2017
Accepted: December 4, 2017
Article in press: December 4, 2017
Published online: January 21, 2018
Abstract
AIM

To compare the capacity of newly developed epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted immune magnetic liposomes (EILs) vs epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) immunomagnetic beads to capture colorectal circulating tumor cells (CTCs).

METHODS

EILs were prepared using a two-step method, and the magnetic and surface characteristics were confirmed. The efficiency of capturing colorectal CTCs as well as the specificity were compared between EILs and EpCAM magnetic beads.

RESULTS

The obtained EILs had a lipid nanoparticle structure similar to cell membrane. Improved binding with cancer cells was seen in EILs compared with the method of coupling nano/microspheres with antibody. The binding increased as the contact time extended. Compared with EpCAM immunomagnetic beads, EILs captured more CTCs in peripheral blood from colorectal cancer patients. The captured cells showed consistency with clinical diagnosis and pathology. Mutation analysis showed same results between captured CTCs and cancer tissues.

CONCLUSION

EGFR antibody-coated magnetic liposomes show high efficiency and specificity in capturing colorectal CTCs.

Keywords: Epidermal growth factor receptor, Immune magnetic liposomes, Epithelial cell adhesion molecule, Circulating tumor cells, Colorectal cancer

Core tip: Epidermal growth factor receptor-targeted immune magnetic liposomes (EILs) were prepared by a two-step method. The binding with capturing tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood from colorectal cancer patients was compared between EILs and epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) immunomagnetic beads. We found that EILs captured more CTCs than EpCAM immunomagnetic beads with a higher efficiency and specificity.