JP2012165666A - Radiosensitive marker for squamous cell carcinoma tissue - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new and reliable radiosensitive marker for squamous cell carcinoma cell, in particular, a method for testing radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, and a reagent and a kit used for the method.SOLUTION: In a comprehensive analysis, BAG1 (BAG-1) was identified as a marker for increasing the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma cell. The testing method, reagent, or kit is used to facilitate each patient to decide whether to select a chemoradiation therapy, and the QOL of the patient is improved.

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, and a reagent and a kit used for carrying out the method.

  Recent advances in cancer radiotherapy have allowed patients to choose radical radiochemotherapy as the primary treatment of choice. However, although cancer is undoubtedly showing some degree of radiosensitivity (cancer cells die by irradiation), there is a large variation in the sensitivity of individual tumors. That is, radiation therapy is effective for some patients but is ineffective or adverse for other patients. For the latter patient, radiation therapy was a valuable waste of time and may have lost the opportunity to undergo a therapeutic surgical procedure. Therefore, it has been strongly desired to identify a highly reliable marker for radiosensitivity of cancer cells.

  To date, transfection of human breast cancer cell line (T47D) expressing mutant p53 with cDNA of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) has been reported to increase the radiosensitivity of the cell line. (Non-Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, the radiosensitivity of brain cancer patients (the effect of radiation therapy is judged from the survival rate after treatment of patients, etc. Strictly speaking, this concept is completely different from the radiosensitivity of cancer cells. However, IGFBP3 is listed along with other 190 markers whose correlation was detected in an exhaustive analysis of 60 cell lines (Table 12). , Figure 9). However, it has not been verified whether IGFBP3 can be used alone as a radiation sensitivity marker for cancer patients or a radiation sensitivity marker for cancer cells.

  In Patent Document 2, IGFBP3 is listed as a marker of poor prognosis after chemotherapy or radiotherapy for glioblastoma patients, together with other 38 markers whose correlation was detected by comprehensive analysis (Table 4). ) Although this finding seems to contradict the results of Non-Patent Document 1, Patent Document 1, and the present inventors, the cause is not clear.

  It has also been reported that REG-Iα and REG-Iβ are expressed by transfection in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-derived cell lines (TE-5 and TE-9), resulting in increased chemosensitivity and radiosensitivity. (Non-patent document 2).

  The BAG1 (BCL2-associated athanogene) gene was identified as a gene encoding an anti-apoptotic protein that interacts with the BCL-2 protein (Cell. 1995 Jan 27; 80 (2): 279-84.). Several reports have been published so far regarding the relationship between the expression of BAG1 protein and the radiosensitivity of certain cancer patients or the radiosensitivity of certain cancer cells.

  In Non-Patent Document 3, among women with early breast cancer who underwent radiation therapy after undergoing mammary tumor excision, patients with up-regulated BAG1 expression in tumor biopsy had no distant metastasis survival and overall survival Increasing rates are reported. However, since all 122 breast cancer patients had undergone mammary tumor removal prior to radiation therapy, the observed increase in distant metastasis survival and overall survival was due to increased radiosensitivity of cancer cells It was not clear whether it was.

  Subsequent research (Non-patent Document 4) showed that overexpression of BAG-1 suppressed apoptosis of MCF7 breast cancer cells due to irradiation. Non-patent document 5 and Non-patent document 6 showed that apoptosis of colorectal adenoma-derived S / RG / C2 cell line due to irradiation was suppressed by the nuclear expression of BAG-1 protein. These results strongly indicate that BAG-1 expression decreases the radiosensitivity of cancer cells, at least in adenocarcinomas such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer, and the survival of distant metastases observed in Non-Patent Document 3 It can be concluded that the increase in rate and overall survival is not due to increased radiosensitivity of cancer cells.

  In human keratinocyte cell line HK18-IR, in which p53 is suppressed by infection with human papillomavirus and is resistant to radiation, it was shown that the BAG-1 gene was activated together with NFκB (Non-patent literature) 7). Here, the HK18-IR cell line was selected from the HK18 cell line using radioresistance as an index. HK18 cell line has been reported to produce squamous cell carcinoma when injected subcutaneously into nude mice (Virology. 1993 Oct; 196 (2): 855-60.).

  Although the results of Non-Patent Document 7 seem to contradict the results of the present inventors at first glance, note that the HK18-IR cell line was established by irradiating ionizing radiation to the HK18 cell line. Should. Ionizing radiation is known to induce the expression of NFκB (J Clin Invest. 1991 Aug; 88 (2): 691-5.), And NFκB is an anti-apoptotic protein such as IAP, Bcl-XL, and Bcl-2. It is also well known to induce the expression of the gene encoding (http://www.genome.jp/kegg-bin/show_pathway?hsa04210). In fact, the activation of the BAG-1 gene in the HK18-IR cell line is activated compared to the HK18 cell line (Table 3), which was induced by irradiation itself. Probability is high.

  It should also be noted that HK18-IR (and HK18) cell lines have p53 suppressed due to human papillomavirus infection. It is widely known that double-strand breaks in chromosomal DNA formed by ionizing radiation activate wild-type p53 and induce apoptosis through expression of target genes (The Biology of Cancer, Robert A. Weinberg, June 2006, Garland Science, pp.307-356). In addition, the p53 state in human cancer tissues can be “inactivated”, “mutated”, or “wild-type”, and even in the same cancer tissue. It may be uniform. Therefore, the experimental results on radiosensitivity in cell lines in which the master gene p53 of radiation-induced apoptosis is suppressed only gives limited suggestions for clinical applications.

International Publication WO 2008/138578 A2 Publication International Publication WO 2008/109423 A1 Publication

Butt AJ, Firth SM, King MA, Baxter RC.Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 modulates expression of Bax and Bcl-2 and potentiates p53-independent radiation-induced apoptosis in human breast cancer cells.J Biol Chem. 2000 Dec 15; 275 (50): 39174-81. Hayashi K, Motoyama S, Koyota S, Koizumi Y, Wang J, Takasawa S, Itaya-Hironaka A, Sakuramoto-Tsuchida S, Maruyama K, Saito H, Minamiya Y, Ogawa J, Sugiyama T. REG I enhances chemo- and radiosensitivity in squamous cell esophageal cancer cells. Cancer Sci. 2008 Dec; 99 (12): 2491-5. Turner BC, Krajewski S, Krajewska M, Takayama S, Gumbs AA, Carter D, Rebbeck TR, Haffty BG, Reed JC. BAG-1: a novel biomarker predicting long-term survival in early-stage breast cancer.J Clin Oncol. 2001 Feb 15; 19 (4): 992-1000. Townsend PA, Cutress RI, Sharp A, Brimmell M, Packham G. BAG-1 prevents stress-induced long-term growth inhibition in breast cancer cells via a chaperone-dependent pathway.Cancer Res. 2003 Jul 15; 63 (14): 4150-7. Barnes JD, Arhel NJ, Lee SS, Sharp A, Al-Okail M, Packham G, Hague A, Paraskeva C, Williams AC. Nuclear BAG-1 expression inhibits apoptosis in colorectal adenoma-derived epithelial cells. Apoptosis. 2005 Mar; 10 (2): 301-11. Clemo NK, Arhel NJ, Barnes JD, Baker J, Moorghen M, Packham GK, Paraskeva C, Williams AC.The role of the retinoblastoma protein (Rb) in the nuclear localization of BAG-1: implications for colorectal tumour cell survival. Soc Trans. 2005 Aug; 33 (Pt 4): 676-8. Chen X, Shen B, Xia L, Khaletzkiy A, Chu D, Wong JY, Li JJ. Activation of nuclear factor kappaB in radioresistance of TP53-inactive human keratinocytes. Cancer Res. 2002 Feb 15; 62 (4): 1213-21 .

  In general, squamous cell carcinoma is more radiosensitive than other cancers, and radiation chemotherapy is often the first treatment of choice. However, even among patients with the same squamous cell carcinoma, the radiosensitivity of the tumor varies widely from patient to patient, and the identification of a reliable marker of squamous cell carcinoma radiosensitivity that can help determine the treatment strategy is strong. It has been desired. That is, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a novel marker for radiosensitivity of highly reliable squamous cell carcinoma cells.

  The inventors of the present invention newly identified BAG1 (BAG-1) as a marker for enhancing the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma cells by comprehensive analysis. Surprisingly, this result is completely opposite to the results of Non-Patent Document 4, Non-Patent Document 5, and Non-Patent Document 6 for adenocarcinoma. In general, it is known that the radiosensitivity of adenocarcinoma is lower than that of squamous cell carcinoma (revised radiotherapy science introduction, Yoichi Watanabe et al., Medical Sciences 2008, pp.3-4 / Aging and the Gastrointestinal Tract ( Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology), A. Pilotto et al., S Karger Publishers 2003, p.89-91), the effect of BAG1 expression on radiosensitivity was also different.

The present invention provides the following test methods, reagents, and kits.
[1]
A method for examining the radiosensitivity of a subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue comprising the following steps:
Measuring the expression level E _cancer of the BAG1 gene in a biological sample obtained from the squamous cell carcinoma tissue of the subject; and associating the expression level E _cancer with the radiosensitivity of the squamous cell carcinoma tissue of the subject;
Here, when the expression level E _cancer is increased as compared with the reference S, it is determined that the radiosensitivity of the squamous cell carcinoma tissue of the subject is increased.
[2]
A primer for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising a polynucleotide comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotide sequences of the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence.
[3]
A hybridization probe for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80% identity to the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence.
[Four]
A reagent for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising an antibody that recognizes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2.
[Five]
One or more polynucleotides comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotide sequences of the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence, and expression of the BAG1 gene in a biological sample obtained from a squamous cell carcinoma tissue of a subject For examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, including instructions that teach that the radiosensitivity of the subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue is increased when the amount is increased relative to a reference kit.
[6]
One or a plurality of polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80% identity with the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence, and the BAG1 gene in a biological sample obtained from a squamous cell carcinoma tissue of a subject Examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, including instructions that teach that the radiosensitivity of the subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue is increased when the expression level of is increased relative to the reference Kit for.
[7]
The expression level of the BAG1 gene in one or more antibodies that recognize a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2 and a biological sample obtained from a squamous cell carcinoma tissue of a subject is increased compared to a reference. A kit for examining the radiosensitivity of the squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising instructions for use that teaches that the radiosensitivity of the subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue is increased.

  The nucleic acid sequence described in SEQ ID NO: 1 is identical to the sequence registered as Gen | 288915524 | ref | NM_004323.5 | Homo sapiens BCL2-associated athanogene (BAG1), transcript variant 1, mRNA in GenBank. In addition, the amino acid sequence described in SEQ ID NO: 2 is identical to the sequence registered in GenBank as gi | 288915525 | ref | NP_004314.5 | BAG family molecular chaperone regulator 1 isoform BAG-1L [Homo sapiens] .

  By using the examination method, reagent, or kit of the present invention, it is easy to determine whether or not each patient should select radiation chemotherapy, and the patient's QOL can be improved.

The results of evaluating the growth of TE-5, TE-9 and TE-12 cloneA1 cells using WST-8 cleavage as an index (n = 5) are shown. The horizontal axis is the number of culture days. The vertical axis is the absorbance at 450 nm. The result of having evaluated cell viability using the MTS assay is shown (n = 5). The horizontal axis is radiation dose (Gy). The vertical axis shows the relative cell viability with 1 for each cell without irradiation (0Gy). An asterisk represents a significant difference (P <0.01). Shown are 54,359 genes detected by DNA microarray in TE-12 cloneA1 and TE-5 cells (inset in the upper left corner). The horizontal axis is the expression level of TE-12 cloneA1 cells. The vertical axis is the expression level of TE-5 cells. In TE-12 cloneA1 cells, 71 genes that are expressed more than 5 times compared to TE-5 cells are indicated by small white circles. IGFBP3 and BAG1 are indicated by large black circles. The expression level of IGFBP3 mRNA in TE-5, TE-9 or TE-12 cloneA1 cells is shown by a bar graph (n = 5). The expression level of mRNA was normalized with respect to the expression level of β-actin mRNA (the expression level of β-actin mRNA was expressed as 1). An asterisk represents a significant difference (P <0.01). The expression level of BAG1 mRNA in TE-5, TE-9 or TE-12 cloneA1 cells is shown by a bar graph (n = 5). The expression level of mRNA was normalized with respect to the expression level of β-actin mRNA. An asterisk represents a significant difference (P <0.01). The result of having investigated the expression level of the protein of IGFBP3 and BAG1 in TE-5, TE-9, or TE-12 cloneA1 cell by Western analysis is shown. The expression level of IGFBP3 mRNA in TE-12 cloneA1 cells transfected with IGFBP3 siRNA is shown (n = 5). The expression level of mRNA was normalized with respect to the expression level of β-actin mRNA. An asterisk represents a significant difference (P <0.01). The expression level of BAG1 mRNA in TE-12 cloneA1 cells transfected with BAG1 siRNA is shown (n = 5). The expression level of mRNA was normalized with respect to the expression level of β-actin mRNA. An asterisk represents a significant difference (P <0.01). The results of examining the cell viability after irradiating TE-12 cloneA1 cells transfected with IGFBP3 siRNA or BAG1 siRNA (5 Gy and 10 Gy) are shown. The horizontal axis is radiation dose (Gy). The vertical axis represents the relative cell viability with 1 for each sample without irradiation (0Gy). An asterisk represents a significant difference (P <0.01).

  Subject: As used herein, “subject” means a mammal, particularly a human.

  Squamous cell carcinoma: The term “squamous cell carcinoma” is used as a concept for adenocarcinoma and non-epithelial cancer. The method, reagent, and kit of the present invention can be preferably used for squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, lung and esophagus, and can be particularly preferably used for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

  Tissue: As used herein, “tissue” means a tissue containing cancer cells. However, the term “tissue” in the context of the present invention does not mean a tissue containing cancer cells derived from breast cancer, brain cancer, glioblastoma, colorectal cancer, or cancer in which p53 is suppressed by infection with human papillomavirus.

  Radiosensitivity: As used herein (except in the background section), “radiosensitivity” is high or increased means that a greater proportion of cancer cells die from the same dose of radiation. Conversely, when “radiosensitivity” is low or diminished, it means that a smaller proportion of cancer cells die from the same dose of radiation. “A cancer cell expressing a gene is likely to die by radiation therapy” means that “the patient who expresses the gene in cancer tissue is effective in radiation therapy or has a good prognosis after radiation therapy. "Cancer cells that express the gene of interest" because "therapy is effective in patients who express a gene in cancer tissue or the prognosis after radiation treatment is good." Is not always easy to die from radiation therapy. " This is because expression of a gene in cancer tissue itself may contribute to a good prognosis (for example, it is difficult to metastasize).

  Biological sample: As used herein, “biological sample” means an in vitro sample that is isolated from a living subject.

  Expression level: In the present specification, the expression “expression level” means the expression level of the gene of interest, specifically the expression level of mRNA or protein from the gene. Since it is usually difficult to measure the absolute value of the expression level, that is, the number of mRNA or protein molecules, the term “expression level” in the present specification means the relative value of the expression level. The term “expression level” is used synonymously with “expression level”.

  Measurement: In this specification, “measurement” includes not only quantitative measurement but also qualitative detection. As means for measuring the expression level of mRNA, Northern blot method, RT-PCR method, microarray method and the like can be suitably used. As a means for measuring the protein expression level, Western blotting, immunohistochemical staining, and the like can be suitably used.

Reference: In the present specification, when “expression” is referred to with respect to the expression level, it means a converted or calculated numerical value indicating the expression level, or the concentration of the dye indicating the expression level, the intensity of fluorescence, and the like.
As the standard of mRNA expression level, the expression level of the mRNA of the housekeeping gene (β-actin, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, etc.) of the biological sample whose BAG1 mRNA expression level was measured and an appropriate value Is preferably used. For example, the expression level of BAG1 mRNA is 0.0020 times, 0.0025 times, preferably 0.0030 times, 0.0035 times, 0.0040 times, 0.0045 times, more preferably 0.0050 times, 0.0055 times compared to the β-actin mRNA expression level. , 0.0060-fold, 0.0065-fold, 0.0070-fold, 0.0075-fold, most preferably 0.0080-fold, 0.0085-fold, 0.0090-fold, 0.0095-fold, or 0.0100-fold, or more, the expression level of BAG1 gene (mRNA) It has increased compared to
As a reference for the protein expression level, for example, the ratio of cells expressing BAG1 protein in a biological sample subjected to immunohistochemical staining using BAG1 antibody can be preferably used. For example, 5%, 10%, 15% of the measurement area, preferably 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, more preferably 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, most preferably 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, or more or 100% of cells express the BAG1 protein. ) "Is increased compared to the standard".

Polynucleotide: The polynucleotide used for carrying out the invention of the present application is, for example, a polynucleotide comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotide sequences of the mRNA sequence of interest or its complementary sequence. In the present specification, “polynucleotide” and “oligonucleotide” are used interchangeably. As the number of consecutive nucleotides, for example, at least 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 28, 29, 30, 31, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 Preferably, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, or 50.
In order to carry out the present invention, for example, a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having 80% or more identity with the sequence of the mRNA of interest or its complementary sequence can be used. As the level of identity, for example, at least 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99%, or 100% is preferred.
When used for RT-PCR, the length of the polynucleotide is preferably 50 nucleotides, 45 nucleotides, 40 nucleotides, 35 nucleotides, 30 nucleotides, or 25 nucleotides, or less. Generally speaking, when a polynucleotide is used as a PCR primer, mutation at the 5 ′ end of the primer hardly affects the hybridization to the template DNA. Thus, for example, if 15 consecutive nucleotide sequences on the 3 ′ end of the primer are completely complementary to the target sequence of the template DNA, the sequence on the 5 ′ end of the primer can be changed relatively freely. it can. Introducing a recognition sequence for various enzymes or a sequence for forming an intramolecular hairpin structure on the 5 ′ end side of the primer is a routine practice by those skilled in the art.
When used as a hybridization probe, the length of the polynucleotide is at least 20 nucleotides, 30 nucleotides, 50 nucleotides, 70 nucleotides, 100 nucleotides, 150 nucleotides, 200 nucleotides, 350 nucleotides, 500 nucleotides, 750 nucleotides, or 1000 Nucleotides are preferred. Generally speaking, when a polynucleotide is used as a hybridization probe, mutations can be introduced in any region of the probe. Preferred levels of identity are as described above.

  Antibody: As an antibody to be used for carrying out the present invention, either a polyclonal antibody or a monoclonal antibody can be preferably used, and a monoclonal antibody is particularly preferable.

Reagent: The “reagent containing an antibody” of the present invention may be an antibody itself, or may be a fragment well known to those skilled in the art, such as a Fab fragment or F (ab ′) ₂ fragment. The antibody may be bound to a label well known to those skilled in the art, such as peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, biotin, metal colloid, FITC, and the like. Needless to say, the “antibody-containing reagent” may contain an appropriate salt, buffer, preservative, surfactant, reducing agent, cryoprotectant and the like.

[Experimental materials and experimental methods]
We established TE-5, -9 and -12 cell lines, which are esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, from Tohoku University Institute of Aging Medicine and RIKEN BioResource Center Cell Bank in 2006. obtained. Since TE-12 cell lines have been reported to be contaminated in recent years (Tohoku University Institute for Aging Medicine, Cell Center for Biomedical Resources), we established four clonal TE-12 cell lines, each of which The clones were named A1 to A4 (TE-12 cloneA1-4). For this study we used TE-5, TE-9 and TE-12 cloneA1 cells. These cells are in RPMI-1640 medium (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and antibiotics (penicillin G / streptomycin / amphotericin B; GIBCO). And maintained in a humidified incubator at 37 ° C. in an atmosphere of 5% CO ₂ /95%.

Cell proliferation assay Cell proliferation was evaluated using Cell Counting Kit-8 (Dojindo Laboratories, Kumamoto, Japan). Cells were seeded in 96-well plates at a density of 1 × 10 ³ cells / well and incubated for 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 days. At appropriate times, 10 μl of Cell Counting Kit-8 reagent was added to the cells. The cells were then incubated for 1 hour, after which the optical density of the plate at 450 nm was read using a Model 550 Microplate Reader (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercoles, CA, USA).

Cell viability for radiation therapy Cells were seeded in 96-well plates at a density of 1 × 10 ³ cells / well and incubated at 37 ° C. for 24 hours. The cells were then irradiated at 0, 5 or 10 Gy using SOFTEX M-100WE (Softex Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). Irradiation conditions are 100 kV, 5 mA, which corresponds to a dose of 2.695 Gy / min. After an additional 72 hours of culture, cell viability was assessed by a colorimetric MTS assay (CellTiter 96 AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay, Promega, Madison, Wisconsin, USA). Briefly, 20 μl of MTS was added to the culture and incubated at 37 ° C. for 4 hours. Cell viability was then determined by measuring the optical density at 490 nm using a microplate reader.

Microarray analysis
TE-12 cloneA1 and TE5 cells were analyzed using CodeLink ^™ Human Whole Genome Bioarray (Applied Microarrays, Inc., Tempe, Arizona, USA). Microarray analysis was outsourced to Philgen Corporation (Nagoya, Japan). Briefly, for each bioarray, 5 μl of 5 × fragmentation buffer was added to 10 μg cRNA (in a total volume of 25 μl) and incubated at 94 ° C. for 20 minutes. Thereafter, 78 μl of hybridization buffer component A and 130 μl of hybridization buffer component B were added to the 10 μg of fragmented cRNA, and the final volume was adjusted to 260 μl with water. The hybridization reaction mixture thus obtained was incubated at 90 ° C. for 5 minutes. Thereafter, 250 μl was slowly injected into the input port of each array and the ports were sealed with a sealing strip. The bioarray was then incubated for 18 hours at 37 ° C. with shaking at 300 rpm. The hybridization time was kept constant for comparative experiments. Following incubation, the bioarray was washed with 0.75 × TNT buffer (0.10 M Tris-HCl, pH 7.6, 0.15 M NaCl, 0.05% Tween 20). This washing was performed by incubating at 46 ° C. for exactly 1 hour. Each slot in the small reagent reservoir was filled with 3.4 ml of Cy5-Streptavidin working solution and the array was incubated at 25 ° C for another 30 minutes. The bioarray was then washed 4 times for 5 minutes each using 1x TNT buffer at 25 ° C, and then further 2 times for 30 seconds each with 0.1x SSC (Ambion, Austin, Texas, USA) /0.05% Tween 20. Rinse and dry immediately by centrifugation at 25 ° C. for 3 minutes. Finally, the array was scanned using a GenePix4000B Array Scanner (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, Calif., USA), and the data was analyzed using MicroArray Data Analysis Tool Ver3.2 (Filgen, Inc.).

Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction From each cell type, use TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen, Grand Island, NY, USA) and Pure-Link RNA Mini Kit (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Total RNA was isolated. The isolated RNA was quantified using a spectrophotometer, and then reverse transcribed from a 2 μg aliquot of RNA using the Transcriptor First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit (Roche Diagnostics, Mannhein, Germany). Primer sequences for amplifying insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) and Bcl-2-associated athanogene 1 (BAG1) are shown in Table 1. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on a LightCycler 480 (Roche Diagnostics) using a LightCycler 480 Kit (Roche Diagnostics). The amplification protocol consisted of 45 cycles of 95 ° C. for 5 minutes followed by 95 ° C. for 10 seconds, 60 ° C. for 30 seconds, and 50 ° C. for 30 seconds. The expression levels of IGFBP3 and BAG1 mRNA were normalized to the expression level of β-actin mRNA.

Immunoblot analysis Cells were cultured in a 10 cm dish for 24 hours, then added with serum-free RPMI-1640 medium and further cultured for 48 hours. Thereafter, the supernatant was recovered and the protein concentration was measured. A sample containing 20 μg of protein was subjected to sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and the separated protein was converted into a nitrocellulose membrane (Trans-Blot Transfer Medium, Bio-Rad Laboratories). ). Thereafter, it was blocked with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) containing 5% nonfat milk and 0.1% Tween 20. After blocking, the anti-human IGFBP3 antibody (anti-human IGFBP3 antibody; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA, USA, 1: 200 dilution) or BAG1 antibody (BAG1 antibody; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, (1: 1000 dilution) overnight at 4 ° C, then 1: 1000 dilution in peroxidase-conjugated secondary anti-mouse IgG; Dako, Glostrup, Denmark, Tween20-PBS ) And kept warm for 1 hour. Immunodetection was performed using ECL Plus Western blotting detection reagents and analysis system (GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA). Finally, the membrane was exposed to X-ray film.

Knockdown of IGFBP3 and BAG1 using small interfering RNA (siRNA)
Silencer (registered trademark) Select Pre-designed siRNA (Ambion) was introduced into TE-5, TE-9 and TE-12 cloneA1 cells using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. 12.5 pmol siRNA (Silencer Select Pre-designed siRNA; Ambion) targeting IGFBP3 and / or BAG1 or negative control siRNA (silencer Negative Control # 1 siRNA; Ambion) together with 5 μl Lipofectamine 2000 and 500 μl Opti -Mixed in MEM I medium (Invitrogen). The sequence of siRNA used in this study is shown in Table 2. The resulting mixture was added to 2 mL of culture and contacted with cells seeded in the wells of a 6-well culture plate. After incubating for 24 hours, the culture solution was replaced with a fresh culture solution. After another 24 hours, a portion of the cells were harvested and seeded in 96-well plates at a density of 1 × 10 ⁴ cells / well for MTS assay. Alternatively, cells were incubated for 48 hours before total RNA was isolated. Total RNA was used to analyze IGFBP3 and BAG1 mRNA expression by RT-PCR.

Statistical analysis Significant differences between the two groups were assessed using Student's t test. All analyzes were performed using JMP8 (SAS, Cary, NC, USA) to generate bilateral P values. A P value less than 0.01 (P <0.01) was considered significant.

[result]
Radiosensitivity of TE cell lines
Cell proliferation indicated by the level of cleavage of WST-8 is different among TE-5, TE-9 and TE-12 cloneA1 cells at all time points investigated (Days 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4) (FIG. 1A). On the other hand, measuring the viability of cells irradiated with 5 and 10 Gy radiation showed that TE-12 cloneA1 cells were significantly more radiosensitive than TE-5 or TE-9 cells. (Figure 1B).

DNA microarray analysis
DNA microarray analysis was performed on the expression levels of 54,359 genes in TE-12 cloneA1 and TE-5 cells, and the result is shown in the inset in the upper left corner of FIG. We found that the expression level of 71 genes is more than 5 times higher in TE-12 cloneA1 cells than in TE-5 cells (small white circles and large black circles in FIG. 2). These are shown in Tables 3-1 to 3-4. Of these 71 genes, we have demonstrated that IGFBP3 and BAG1 (large black circles in Fig. 2) are actually involved in the radiosensitivity of cancer cells. The results are shown below. Microarray data was confirmed by RT-PCR and Western analysis. According to the results, both IGFBP3 and BAG1 mRNA and protein expression levels were significantly higher in the TE-12 cloneA1 cell line than in the TE-5 or TE-9 cell line (Fig. 3A, 3B, 3C).

Changes in radiosensitivity induced by knockdown of IGFBP3 and / or BAG1 Next, we examined the effects of knockdown of IGFBP3 and / or BAG1 in TE-12 cloneA1 cells. Transfection of cells with siRNA targeting IGFBP3 or BAG1 reduced the expression level of each mRNA (FIGS. 4A and 4B). For IGFBP3, the average knockdown efficiency was 75% (IGFBP3 siRNA-1) and 59% (IGFBP3 siRNA-2) (see Table 2 and FIG. 4A). For BAG1, the average values of knockdown efficiency were 73% (BAG1 siRNA-1) and 78% (BAG1 siRNA-2) (see Table 2 and FIG. 4B). Examination of cell viability at 72 hours after irradiation (5 Gy and 10 Gy) shows that cells with IGFBP3 or BAG1 knockdown are significantly less radiosensitive than negative control cells. (Figure 4C). These results indicate that knocking down IGFBP3 and / or BAG1 reduces the radiosensitivity of TE-12 cloneA1 cells.

  The present invention can be used for the examination of the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue and the production of a reagent or kit for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue in an examination organization.

Claims (7)

A method for examining the radiosensitivity of a subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue comprising the following steps:
Measuring the expression level E _cancer of the BAG1 gene in a biological sample obtained from the squamous cell carcinoma tissue of the subject; and associating the expression level E _cancer with the radiosensitivity of the squamous cell carcinoma tissue of the subject;
Here, when the expression level E _cancer is increased as compared with the reference S, it is determined that the radiosensitivity of the squamous cell carcinoma tissue of the subject is increased.   A primer for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising a polynucleotide comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotide sequences of the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence.   A hybridization probe for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising a polynucleotide comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80% identity to the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence.   A reagent for examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising an antibody that recognizes a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2.   One or more polynucleotides comprising at least 15 consecutive nucleotide sequences of the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence, and expression of the BAG1 gene in a biological sample obtained from a squamous cell carcinoma tissue of a subject For examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, including instructions that teach that the radiosensitivity of the subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue is increased when the amount is increased relative to a reference kit.   One or a plurality of polynucleotides comprising a nucleotide sequence having at least 80% identity with the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 or its complementary sequence, and the BAG1 gene in a biological sample obtained from a squamous cell carcinoma tissue of a subject Examining the radiosensitivity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue, including instructions that teach that the radiosensitivity of the subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue is increased when the expression level of is increased relative to the reference Kit for.   The expression level of the BAG1 gene in one or more antibodies that recognize a polypeptide comprising the amino acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2 and a biological sample obtained from a squamous cell carcinoma tissue of a subject is increased compared to a reference. A kit for examining the radiosensitivity of the squamous cell carcinoma tissue, comprising instructions for use that teaches that the radiosensitivity of the subject's squamous cell carcinoma tissue is increased.