Evaluation of macrophage migration inhibitory factor as an imaging marker for hepatocellular carcinoma in murine models

Abstract

Objective. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is considered as an important mediator in the pathogenesis of neoplasia. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether MIF could be used as a marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) detection. Material and methods. Biodistribution and whole-body autoradiography studies of ¹³¹I-labeled anti-MIF monoclonal antibody (McAb) and ¹³¹I-labeled control IgG were performed. The HCC-bearing mice were injected with 3.7 MBq of each agent and killed at 24, 48, and 72 h postinjection (p.i.). The organs, blood, and HCC tissues were removed from model mice, weighed, and counted using a gamma-counter. The expression of MIF mRNA and protein within HCC tissues was confirmed by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results. HCCs in model mice could be adequately visualized at 24 h p.i. The target-to-non-target (T/NT) ratios were 6.72 ± 1.09 (24 h), 9.85 ± 0.81 (48 h), and 12.31 ± 0.57 (72 h) for ¹³¹I-labeled anti-MIF McAb group, whereas in the control group of ¹³¹I-IgG, T/NT ratios were 4.65 ± 0.63 (24 h), 6.12 ± 0.60 (48 h), and 8.23 ± 0.35 (72 h) (p < 0.05). MIF mRNA expression was twofold higher in the HCC tissues than in the healthy liver tissues. MIF protein expression was much higher in the HCC tissues than in controls. Conclusions. Our findings suggested that ¹³¹I-anti-MIF McAb could be rapidly and specifically localized in tumors. Thus, MIF could be used as a marker for HCC tumor detection.

Key Words::

• Anti-MIF McAb
• immunohistochemistry
• MIF
• radioiodine
• RT-PCR
• tumor imaging

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. Y2007C088) and a grant from the financial support from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 20090461227).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.