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Method Article

Immunohistochemical Staining of B7-H1 (PD-L1) on Paraffin-embedded Slides of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Tissue

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DOI:

10.3791/4059

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January 3rd, 2013

 ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 
1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 2Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 3Department of Dermatology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 4Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 6Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, 7The Skip Viragh Center for Pancreatic Cancer, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 8Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

In This Article

Summary

B7-H1 (PD-L1) and its binding to PD-1 provide a major tumor-induced immunosuppressive signal in the tumor’s microenvironment. An immunohistochemical staining technique to characterize the expression and localization of B7-H1 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma is described here.

Abstract

B7-H1/PD-L1, a member of the B7 family of immune-regulatory cell-surface proteins, plays an important role in the negative regulation of cell-mediated immune responses through its interaction with its receptor, programmed death-1 (PD-1) 1,2. Overexpression of B7-H1 by tumor cells has been noted in a number of human cancers, including melanoma, glioblastoma, and carcinomas of the lung, breast, colon, ovary, and renal cells, and has been shown to impair anti-tumor T-cell immunity3-8.

Recently, B7-H1 expression by pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues has been identified as a potential prognostic marker9,10. Additionally, blockade of B7-H1 in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer has been shown to produce an anti-tumor response11. These data suggest the importance of B7-H1 as a potential therapeutic target. Anti-B7-H1 blockade antibodies are therefore being tested in clinical trials for multiple human solid tumors including melanoma and cancers of lung, colon, kidney, stomach and pancreas12.

In order to eventually be able to identify the patients who will benefit from B7-H1 targeting therapies, it is critical to investigate the correlation between expression and localization of B7-H1 and patient response to treatment with B7-H1 blockade antibodies. Examining the expression of B7-H1 in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues through immunohistochemistry will give a better understanding of how this co-inhibitory signaling molecule contributes to the suppression of antitumor immunity in the tumor's microenvironment. The anti-B7-H1 monoclonal antibody (clone 5H1) developed by Chen and coworkers has been shown to produce reliable staining results in cryosections of multiple types of human neoplastic tissues4,8, but staining on paraffin-embedded slides had been a challenge until recently13-18. We have developed the B7-H1 staining protocol for paraffin-embedded slides of pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues. The B7-H1 staining protocol described here produces consistent membranous and cytoplasmic staining of B7-H1 with little background.

Protocol

B7-H1/PD-L1, a member of the B7 family of immune-regulatory cell-surface proteins, plays an important role in the negative regulation of cell-mediated immune responses through its interaction with its receptor, programmed death-1 (PD-1) 1,2. Overexpression of B7-H1 by tumor cells has been noted in a number of human cancers, including melanoma, glioblastoma, and carcinomas of the lung, breast, colon, ovary, and renal cells, and has been shown to impair anti-tumor T-cell immunity3-8.

Recently, B7-H1 expression by pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues has been identified as a potential prognostic marker9,10. Additionally, blockade of B7-H1 in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer has been shown to produce an anti-tumor response11. These data suggest the importance of B7-H1 as a potential therapeutic target. Anti-B7-H1 blockade antibodies are therefore being tested in clinical trials for multiple human solid tumors including melanoma and cancers of lung, colon, kidney, stomach and pancreas12.

In order to eventually be able to identify the patients who will benefit from B7-H1 targeting therapies, it is critical to investigate the correlation between expression and localization of B7-H1 and patient response to treatment with B7-H1 blockade antibodies. Examining the expression of B7-H1 in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues through immunohistochemistry will give a better understanding of how this co-inhibitory signaling molecule contributes to the suppression of antitumor immunity in the tumor's microenvironment. The anti-B7-H1 monoclonal antibody (clone 5H1) developed by Chen and coworkers has been shown to produce reliable staining results in cryosections of multiple types of human neoplastic tissues4,8, but staining on paraffin-embedded slides had been a challenge until recently13-18. We have developed the B7-H1 staining protocol for paraffin-embedded slides of pancreatic adenocarcinoma tissues. The B7-H1 staining protocol described here produces consistent membranous and cytoplasmic staining of B7-H1 with little background.

1. De-parafinization

  1. Bake slides at 55 °C for 20 min.
  2. In a chemical hood, immerse slides in xylene for 10 min.
  3. Immerse slides in fresh xylene for 10 min.
  4. Immerse slides in 100% ethanol for 5 min.
  5. Immerse slides in fresh 100% ethanol for 5 min.
  6. Immerse slides in 95% ethanol for 5 min.
  7. Immerse slides in 80% ethanol for 5 min.
  8. Immerse slides in deionized water for 5 min.

2. Antigen Retrieval

  1. Immerse slides in Tris-EDTA buffer (pH 9.0) and heat in a pressure cooker to 125 °C for 30 sec, then 90 °C for 10 sec.
  2. Let slides cool for 60 min.
  3. Immerse slides in TBST for 5 min; repeat twice.

3. Staining

  1. Wipe off solutions around the tissue on the slides. Mark a circle around the tissue with a hydrophobic pen.
  2. Place the slides in a humidity chamber and avoid the drying of the tissue on the slide throughout the entire staining process. Place one drop (approximately 200 μl or more to cover the tissue area completely) of peroxidase block within the hydrophobic circle on the slide and incubate slides in peroxidase block for 5 min.
  3. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min.
  4. Place one drop of BLOCK ACE blocking buffer on each slide and incubate for 15 min.
  5. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min.
  6. Place one drop of Avidin solution on each slide and incubate for 15 min.
  7. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min.
  8. Place one drop of Biotin solution on each slide and incubate for 15 min.
  9. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min.
  10. Incubate slides with 1:1,000 dilution of mouse anti-B7-H1 monoclonal antibody (clone 5H1) or a mouse IgG1 κ isotype control in 200 μl TBST at 4 °C overnight for 22 hr+/- 1 hr. The final antibody concentration in TBST is 2.57 μg/ml.
  11. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min. Repeat twice.
  12. Incubate slides with a biotin conjugated rat anti-mouse IgG1 secondary antibody at a 1:500 concentration (in 200 μl 2% goat serum solution) for 30 min.
  13. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min. Repeat twice.
  14. Place one drop of Streptavidin-Biotin Complex (must be prepared at least 30 min prior to use) on each slide and incubate for 15 min.
  15. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min. Repeat twice.
  16. Place one drop of Amplification Reagent (diluted 2:1 with TBST) on each slide and incubate for 4 min.
  17. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min. Repeat twice.
  18. Place one drop of Streptavidin-HRP on each slide and incubate for 15 min.
  19. Rinse slides with TBST, then place in TBST for 5 min. Repeat twice.
  20. Place one drop of 3,3-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) substrate and chromogen on each slide and develop the color for 2 min.
  21. Immediately after the color development, wash slides with ddH2O for 1-2 min.
  22. Incubate slides with one drop of hematoxylin for 90 sec.
  23. Wash with ddH2O for 1-2 min.
  24. Wash with soapy tap water for 1-2 min.
  25. Wash with ddH2O for 1-2 min.

4. Dehydration and Mounting

  1. Immerse the slides in 80% ethanol for 3 min.
  2. Immerse the slides in 95% ethanol for 3 min.
  3. Immerse the slides in 100% ethanol for 5 min. Repeat.
  4. Immerse the slides in xylene for 5 min. Repeat.
  5. Add one drop of Cytoseal 60 to the slide and place the coverslip.

Table 1 lists the reagents used in the above described procedures.

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Results

A successful immunohistochemical staining of B7-H1 will demonstrate the heterogeneous expression of B7-H1 (brown signals DAB color development) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Some pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells have predominantly membranous expression of B7-H1 (Figure 1A) whereas others have either predominantly cytoplasmic expression of B7-H1 or little expression of B7-H1 (Figures 2 and 3). Normal pancreatic duct epithelium expresses little B7-H1 (Figure 4). Staining ...

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Discussion

Immunohistochemical staining of B7-H1 on cryosections has been reported in prior studies for a variety of cancers3,4. However, clinical tumor samples usually are available only in the form of paraffin-embedded blocks. The 5H1 monoclonal antibody has more recently been successfully applied to the staining of paraffin embedded tumor tissues including renal cell carcinoma, cervical carcinoma, bladder cancer and melanoma13-18. B7-H1 staining on paraffin-embedded9,19 or cryostat20 s...

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Disclosures

No conflicts of interest declared.

Acknowledgements

E.B., K.M.B, and H.X. contribute equally. This study was supported by the NCI SPORE in Gastrointestinal Cancers P50 CA062924, NIH K23 CA148964, Lustgarten Foundation, Viragh Foundation, ASCO Young Investigator Award, NIH 5T32 CA0090701-28 Training Grant, Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Center, and National Pancreas Foundation.

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Materials

List of materials used in this article
NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
CSA SystemDakoK1500Includes the following reagents mentioned in the protocol: peroxidase block, streptavidin-biotin complex, amplification reagent, streptavidin-HRP, and DAB substrate and chromogen
Avidin/Biotin Blocking KitVectorSP-2001
Block ACESerotecBUF029
Biotin anti-mouse IgG1BD553441
Mouse IgG1 K Isotype ControleBioscience14-4714-85
TBS(Tris-buffered saline), 10XCellgro46-012-CM10xTBS contains 80 g/L NaCl and 24.2 g/L Tirs;
Diluted to 1X with ddH2O for washes;
Tween 20Sigma-AldrichP13791 ml added to 1 L of 1X TBS to make TBST
Target Retrieval, 20xCelerus Wave014-3000-000Diluted to 1x with ddH2O
190 Proof Ethyl AlcoholPharmco-Aaper111000190
200 Proof Ethyl AlcoholPharmo-Aaper111000200
XyleneVWR95057-827
HematoxylinRichard-Allan Scientific72804
Cytoseal 60Richard-Allan Scientific8310-4
CoverslipsCorning2940-245
Humidity chamberSigmaH6644
Table 1. Reagents and equipment.

References

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  3. Curiel, T. J., Wei, S., Dong, H., Alvarez, X., Cheng, P., Mottram, P., Krzysiek, R., Knutson, K. L., et al. Blockade of B7-H1 improves myeloid dendritic cell-mediated antitumor immunity. Nat. Med. 9, 562-567 (2003).
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Antigen RetrievalDAB Color DevelopmentAntibody StainingTissue DehydrationMicroscopy AnalysisSignal Amplification
Immunohistochemical Staining of B7-H1 (PD-L1) on Paraffin-embedded Slides of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Tissue
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