Phage probes for malignant glial cells

Early diagnosis and effective treatment of malignant gliomas, which are heterogeneous brain tumors with variable expression of cell surface markers, are inhibited by the lack of means to characterize and target tumor-selective molecules. To create molecular profiles for RG2 rat glioma cells, we used phage display technology, an approach capable of producing valuable ligands to unknown cell surface targets. The ligands were selected from libraries of peptides displayed as fusion molecules on phage particles. Modifications of the selection conditions resulted in identification of three distinctive families of peptide ligands for malignant glioma cells. The first family with V (D)/(G) L P (E)/(T) H(3) binding motif appeared to target a marker that is common for glioma cells, normal brain cells, and cells of non-brain origin. The second group of peptide-presented phage displayed D (T)/S/(L) T K consensus sequence and contained peptides with pronounced glioma-selective properties. Phage clones expressing peptides with E (L)/V/(S) R G D S motif were found in cell lysates and represented the third family of glioma-specific ligands. All peptides within this family contain the RGD amino acid sequence, which is known to bind to a number of integrins. Phage clones that belong to this family were internalized by RG2 glioma cells about 63-fold more efficiently than by astrocytes. The approach described could be applicable for accurate detection of glioma expression patterns in individual tumors. Such patterns could be beneficial in the design of effective combinations of drugs for anti-glioma treatments.