Highlights d 3F3-FMA is identified in a screen as a selective ferroptosisimmunostaining reagent d The antigen of 3F3-FMA is identified as the transferrin receptor 1 protein (TfR1) d Anti-TfR1 antibodies can detect ferroptosis by immunofluorescence and flow cytometry d Anti-TfR1 and anti-MDA antibodies detect ferroptosis in xenograft cancer models
Determining cell
death mechanisms occurring in patient and animal
tissues is a longstanding goal that requires suitable biomarkers and
accurate quantification. However, effective methods remain elusive.
To develop more powerful and unbiased analytic frameworks, we developed
a machine learning approach for automated cell death classification.
Image sets were collected of HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells undergoing
ferroptosis or apoptosis and stained with an anti-transferrin receptor
1 (TfR1) antibody, together with nuclear and F-actin staining. Features
were extracted using high-content-analysis software, and a classifier
was constructed by fitting a multinomial logistic lasso regression
model to the data. The prediction accuracy of the classifier within
three classes (control, ferroptosis, apoptosis) was 93%. Thus, TfR1
staining, combined with nuclear and F-actin staining, can reliably
detect both apoptotic and ferroptotis cells when cell features are
analyzed in an unbiased manner using machine learning, providing a
method for unbiased analysis of modes of cell death.
Of the deaths attributed to cancer, 90% are due to metastasis. Treatments that prevent or cure metastasis remain elusive. Low expression of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EcSOD or SOD3) has been associated with poor outcomes and increased metastatic potential in multiple types of cancer. Here, we characterize the antimetastatic therapeutic mechanisms of a macromolecular extracellular SOD3-mimetic polynitroxyl albumin (PNA, also known as VACNO). PNA is macromolecular human serum albumin conjugated with multiple nitroxide groups and acts as an SOD-mimetic. Here we show that PNA works as a SOD3-mimetic in a highly metastatic 4T1 mouse model of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). In vitro, PNA dose dependently inhibited 4T1 proliferation, colony formation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation. In vivo, PNA enhanced reperfusion time in the hypoxic cores of 4T1 tumors as measured by ultrasound imaging. Furthermore, PNA enhanced ultrasound signal intensity within the cores of the 4T1 tumors, indicating PNA can increase blood flow and blood volume within the hypoxic cores of tumors. Lung metastasis from 4T1 flank tumor was inhibited by PNA in the presence or absence of doxorubicin, a chemotherapy agent that produces superoxide and promotes metastasis. In a separate study, PNA increased the survival of mice with 4T1 flank tumors when used in conjunction with three standard chemotherapy drugs (paclitaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide), as compared to treatment with chemotherapy alone. In this study, PNA-increased survival was also correlated with reduction of lung metastasis. These results support the hypothesis that PNA works through the inhibition of extracellular superoxide/ROS production leading to the conversion of 4T1 cells from a metastatic tumorigenic state to a cytostatic state. These findings support future clinical trials of PNA as an antimetastatic SOD3-mimetic drug to increase overall survival in TNBC patients.
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