A new TAG-72 cancer marker peptide identified by phage display

Radiolabeled peptides as markers of cancer targets have demonstrated their value in diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy. The 16 mer f88-4/Cys6 phage display library was applied to affinity purified TAG-72 and three consensus peptides were identified: VHHSCTKLTHCCQNWH (A2-13), GGVSCMQTSPVCENNL (A2-6) and TKRDCSAQNYGCQKAI (A2-11). The A2-13 and A2-6 phages showed the highest percent binding to LS-174T cells by flow cytometry and were 3-fold higher than a control phage, while fluorescence microscopy showed that both A2-6 and A2-13 phages bound to the LS-174T cell membrane. However, only the A2-6 phage demonstrated specificity by low binding to the TAG-72 negative cell HT-29. Furthermore, the synthesized free A2-6 peptide demonstrated specific binding to LS-174T cells by flow cytometry and by immunohistochemical staining of xenograft tumor compared to normal colon. These data indicate that the A2-6 peptide is specific for the TAG-72 cancer target.