Transfer, imaging, and analysis plate for facile handling of 384 hanging drop 3D tissue spheroids.

Three-dimensional culture systems bridge the experimental gap between in vivo and in vitro physiology. However, nonstandardized formation and limited downstream adaptability of 3D cultures have hindered mainstream adoption of these systems for biological applications, especially for low- and moderate-throughput assays commonly used in biomedical research. Here we build on our recent development of a 384-well hanging drop plate for spheroid culture to design a complementary spheroid transfer and imaging (TRIM) plate. The low-aspect ratio wells of the TRIM plate facilitated high-fidelity, user-independent, contact-based collection of hanging drop spheroids. Using the TRIM plate, we demonstrated several downstream analyses, including bulk tissue collection for flow cytometry, high-resolution low working-distance immersion imaging, and timely reagent delivery for enzymatic studies. Low working-distance multiphoton imaging revealed a cell type-dependent, macroscopic spheroid structure. Unlike ovarian cancer spheroids, which formed loose, disk-shaped spheroids, human mammary fibroblasts formed tight, spherical, and nutrient-limited spheroids. Beyond the applications we describe here, we expect the hanging drop spheroid plate and complementary TRIM plate to facilitate analyses of spheroids across the spectrum of throughput, particularly for bulk collection of spheroids and high-content imaging.

Galectin-1-binding glycoforms of haptoglobin with altered intracellular trafficking, and increase in metastatic breast cancer patients.

Sera from 25 metastatic breast cancer patients and 25 healthy controls were subjected to affinity chromatography using immobilized galectin-1. Serum from the healthy subjects contained on average 1.2 mg per ml (range 0.7-2.2) galectin-1 binding glycoproteins, whereas serum from the breast cancer patients contained on average 2.2 mg/ml (range 0.8-3.9), with a higher average for large primary tumours. The major bound glycoproteins were α-2-macroglobulin, IgM and haptoglobin. Both the IgM and haptoglobin concentrations were similar in cancer compared to control sera, but the percentage bound to galectin-1 was lower for IgM and higher for haptoglobin: about 50% (range 20-80) in cancer sera and about 30% (range 25-50) in healthy sera. Galectin-1 binding and non-binding fractions were separated by affinity chromatography from pooled haptoglobin from healthy sera. The N-glycans of each fraction were analyzed by mass spectrometry, and the structural differences and galectin-1 mutants were used to identify possible galectin-1 binding sites. Galectin-1 binding and non-binding fractions were also analyzed regarding their haptoglobin function. Both were similar in forming complex with haemoglobin and mediate its uptake into alternatively activated macrophages. However, after uptake there was a dramatic difference in intracellular targeting, with the galectin-1 non-binding fraction going to a LAMP-2 positive compartment (lysosomes), while the galectin-1 binding fraction went to larger galectin-1 positive granules. In conclusion, galectin-1 detects a new type of functional biomarker for cancer: a specific type of glycoform of haptoglobin, and possibly other serum glycoproteins, with a different function after uptake into tissue cells.

The anti-angiogenic peptide anginex greatly enhances galectin-1 binding affinity for glycoproteins.

Angiogenesis is a key event in cancer progression and therefore a promising target in cancer treatment. Galectin-1, a ß-galactoside binding lectin, is up-regulated in the endothelium of tumors of different origin and has been shown to be the target for anginex, a powerful anti-angiogenic peptide with anti-tumor activity. Here we show that when bound to anginex, galectin-1 binds various glycoproteins with hundred- to thousand-fold higher affinity. Anginex also interacts with galectin-2, -7, -8N, and -9N but not with galectin-3, -4, or -9C.

Monovalent interactions of galectin-1.

Galectin-1, a ß-galactoside binding lectin involved in immunoregulation and cancer, binds natural and many synthetic multivalent glycoconjugates with an apparent glycoside cluster effect, that is, affinity above and beyond what would be expected from the concentration of the determinant sugar. Here we have analyzed the mechanism of such cluster effects in solution at physiological concentration using a fluorescence anisotropy assay with a novel fluorescent high-affinity galectin-1 binding probe. The interaction of native dimeric and monomeric mutants of rat and human galectin-1 with mono- and divalent small molecules, fetuin, asialofetuin, and human serum glycoproteins was analyzed. Surprisingly, high-affinity binding did not depend much on the dimeric state of galectin-1 and thus is due mainly to monomeric interactions of a single carbohydrate recognition domain. The mechanism for this is unknown, but one possibility includes additional interactions that high-affinity ligands make with an extended binding site on the carbohydrate recognition domain. It follows that such weak additional interactions must be important for the biological function of galectin-1 and also for the design of galectin-1 inhibitors.

Galectin-3 functions as an opsonin and enhances the macrophage clearance of apoptotic neutrophils.

Galectin-3, a beta-galactoside binding, endogenous lectin, takes part in various inflammatory events and is produced in substantial amounts at inflammatory foci. We investigated whether extracellular galectin-3 could participate in the phagocytic clearance of apoptotic neutrophils by macrophages, a process of crucial importance for termination of acute inflammation. Using human leukocytes, we show that exogenously added galectin-3 increased the uptake of apoptotic neutrophils by monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). Both the proportion of MDM that engulfed apoptotic prey and the number of apoptotic neutrophils that each MDM engulfed were enhanced in the presence of galectin-3. The effect was lactose-inhibitable and required galectin-3 affinity for N-acetyllactosamine, a saccharide typically found on cell surface glycoproteins, since a mutant lacking this activity was without effect. The enhanced uptake relied on the presence of galectin-3 during the cellular interaction and was paralleled by lectin binding to apoptotic cells as well as MDM in a lactose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that galectin-3 functions as a bridging molecule between phagocyte and apoptotic prey, acting as an opsonin. The process of clearance, whereby apoptotic neutrophils are removed by macrophages, is crucial for the resolution of acute inflammation and our data imply that the increased levels of galectin-3 often found at inflammatory sites could potently affect this process.