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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Evidence for EpCAM and Cytokeratin Expressing Epithelial Cells in Normal Human and Murine Blood and Bone Marrow
Published on: April 21, 2023
Wash-free and selective imaging of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) expressing cells with fluorogenic
Tara Bahadur K C1, Kanako Suga2, Takashi Isoshima3
1Emergent Bioengineering Materials Research Team, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Graduate School of Biological Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan.
Abstract:
Detection of the cells expressing an epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a crucial step to identify circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood. To detect the EpCAM, we here designed and synthesized a series of fluorogenic peptides. Specifically, we functionalized an EpCAM-binding peptide, Ep114, by replacing its amino acids to an aminophenylalanine that was modified with environmentally sensitive 7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-amPhe). Among six synthesized peptides, we have found that two peptides, Q4X and V6X (X represents NBD-amPhe), retain the Ep114's binding ability and specifically mark EpCAM-expressing cells by just adding these peptides to the cultivation medium. Our wash-free, fluorogenic peptide ligands would boost the development of next generation devices for CTC diagnoses.
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