A CD44-biosensor for evaluating metastatic potential of breast cancer cells based on quartz crystal microbalance

• Published in: Science bulletin (Beijing) 2017-07, Vol.62 (13), p.923-930
• Main Authors: Yang, Xiaojuan, Zhou, Rongcheng, Hao, Yan, Yang, Peihui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Breast cancer cells; CD44; MCF-7细胞; Metastatic potential; Quartz crystal microbalance; Stiffness; 乳腺癌细胞; 检测限; 潜力评价; 生物传感器; 石英晶体微天平; 聚乙烯亚胺
• ISSN: 2095-9273
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2017.05.022

A sensitive CD44-biosensor based on quartz crystal microbalance （QCM） was proposed for evaluating metastatic potential of breast cancer cells by using hyaluronan （HA） functionalized substrate film, poly- dopamine and polyethyleneimine composite film, for the purpose of capturing CD44-positive cancer cells through specific binding of HA to CD44. Two differently CD44-expressed breast cancer cell lines （MDA- MB-231 cells and MCF-7 cells） were put to use as targets for quantitative analysis as well as evaluation of metastatic potential of the cells. The limit of detection for MDA-MB-231 （M231） cells and MCF-7 cells were 300 and 1,000 cells mL 1 respectively. The expression level of CD44 on M231 cells exhibited two times higher than that of MCF-7 cells, indicating of a higher metastatic potential. Moreover, poly-L- lysine modified QCM sensor was applied to monitor the stiffness of breast cancer cells that can reflect metastatic potential of cells. The results revealed that the MCF-7 cells were stiffer than M231 cells, imply- ing that the M231 cells possessed higher metastatic potential. The proposed protocol is simple and rapid to evaluate the metastatic potential of cancer cells, in addition to offering a promising diagnostic tool for metastatic cancer.