title: Quantitative assessment of Tn antigen in breast tissue micro-arrays using CdSe aqueous quantum dots.
abstract: In this study, we examined the use of CdSe aqueous quantum dots (AQDs) each conjugated to three streptavidin as a fluorescent label to image Tn antigen expression in various breast tissues via a sandwich staining procedure where the primary monoclonal anti-Tn antibody was bound to the Tn antigen on the tissue, a biotin-labeled secondary antibody was bound to the primary anti-Tn antibody, and finally the streptavidin-conjugated AQDs were bound to the biotin on the secondary antibody. We evaluated the AQD staining of Tn antigen on tissue microarrays consisting of 395 cores from 115 cases including three tumor cores and one normal-tissue core from each breast cancer case and three tumor cores from each benign case. The results indicated AQD-Tn staining was positive in more than 90% of the cells in the cancer cores but not the cells in the normal-tissue cores and the benign tumor cores. As a result, AQD-Tn staining exhibited 95% sensitivity and 90% specificity in differentiating breast cancer against normal breast tissues and benign breast conditions. These results were better than the 90% sensitivity and 80% specificity exhibited by the corresponding horse radish peroxidase (HRP) staining using the same antibodies on the same tissues and those of previous studies that used different fluorescent labels to image Tn antigen. In addition to sensitivity and specificity, the current AQD-Tn staining with a definitive threshold was quantitative.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health System, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Giang H T
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Au
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Drexel University, 245 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.
authors.forename: Linette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mejias
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Drexel University, 245 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.
authors.forename: Vanlila K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Swami
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Drexel University, 245 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.
authors.forename: Ari D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health System, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Wan Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: shihwh@drexel.edu.
authors.forename: Wei-Heng
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Shih
mesh_terms: D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / Q000378:metabolism*; D001940:Breast / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D005453:Fluorescence; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D049449:Luminescence; D045663:Quantum Dots; D018036:Selenium Compounds; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D018036:Selenium Compounds; C040286:Tn antigen; D014867:Water; C058667:cadmium selenide; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase
keywords: Breast cancer; Image analysis; Immunochemistry; Nanoparticle; Quantum dots; Surgery margin