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Ultrasensitive Cross-species Measurement of Cardiac Troponin-I Using the Erenna Immunoassay System
1 Department of Pathology, Lilly Research Laboratories, A Division of Eli Lilly and Company, Greenfield, Indiana, USA Correspondence: A. Eric Schultze, Department of Pathology, Lilly Research Laboratories, PO Box 708 Drop Code GL44, Greenfield, IN 46140, USA; e-mail:aes{at}lilly.com.
Serum cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) has been validated as a biomarker for cardiotoxicity in numerous animal models; however, owing to sensitivity issues cTnI concentrations in healthy, resting animals used in toxicology studies have not been established. Serum from healthy and isoproterenol hydrochloride (iso)-treated rats, dogs, and monkeys were assayed using the Erenna system. The Erenna cTnI assay provided sensitivity < 1 ng/L across human, rat, dog, and monkey cTnI. Linear responses (R2= 0.99) were observed for all species. Precision studies yielded interassay CVs of curve fit quantification from 2% to 4% between 1.6 and 5000 ng/L, and 23% at 0.78 ng/L. Strong correlation (R2= 0.99) was obtained between Erenna and Beckman Access cTnI. Concentrations of cTnI in healthy animals ranged from 1 to 9 ng/L. In longitudinal studies of iso-treated animals, the concentrations of cTnI in the control vehicle-treated groups were 10–20 ng/L for rats (N = 10) and predose values of 2–3 ng/L for dogs (N = 3). Measured with the Erenna assay system, cTnI was quantifiable at all time intervals tested in all animals treated with iso. The Erenna system provides sensitive measurement of cTnI in rats, dogs, and monkeys, makes it possible to determine small changes from normal concentrations, and provides cTnI values from small volumes of serum.
Key Words: cardiac troponin cardiotoxicity cTnI rat human dog monkey Abbreviations: cTnI, Cardiac troponin-I iso, isoproterenol LoD, limit of detection CV, coefficient of variance NIST, National Institute for Standards and Technology
Blood cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) concentration has been validated as a biomarker for cardiotoxicity in numerous animal models, including rat, dog, and monkey (Adin et al. 2006; Burgener et al. 2006; Feng et al. 2005; Gaze and Collinson 2005; Herman et al. 2006; OBrien 2006; OBrien et al. 2006). Currently a wide variety of immunoassays and platforms are available to measure human cTnI concentrations; however, little has been done to validate these systems with regard to sensitivity across species using an internationally recognized standard (Adin et al. 2006; Peetz et al. 2006; Storti et al. 2006). Furthermore, few of these systems have demonstrated sufficient sensitivity and precision to quantify the low levels of cTnI in apparently healthy, resting animals that might be used in toxicology studies. The International Life Sciences Institute/Health and Environmental Sciences Institute Cardiac Troponins Expert Working Group compared nine commercial assays used for measurement of cTnI and cTnT in animals and identified differences in species cross-reactivity, assay precision, and dynamic range (Apple et al. 2005, 2007; Pettit et al. 2007). Some assays were suboptimal for use in select species. A further challenge is that many of these assay platforms, such as the reference method used in this study, require > 100 µL of serum or plasma per determination, which makes testing small volumes of serum (e.g., individual rodents) challenging. In this report we describe the use of the Erenna System cTnI immunoassay, along with the NIST cTnI reference material, for quantifying low and high concentrations of cTnI in rat, dog, and monkey models of chemically induced cardiotoxicity, as well as its ability to measure cTnI in rat samples of low or limited volume.
The Erenna Immunoassay System (Singulex, Alameda, CA, USA), based on single-molecule counting, and the Erenna cTnI immunoassay, which uses a paramagnetic microparticle (MP) solid-phase assay format, have been described in detail previously (Todd et al. 2007; Wu et al. 2006). The current version of the assay, which was designed for use in a batch mode and has not yet been submitted for review by regulatory bodies, requires approximately two hours elapsed time and is used primarily as a research tool. Dog, monkey, and rat purified cTnIs were obtained from Hytest (Finland). Human cTnI complex #2921 was obtained from NIST (Gaithersburg, MD, USA). Briefly, the Erenna cTnI assay was performed as follows: 50 µL serum (either neat or prediluted in calibrator diluent, e.g. 2.5 µL serum + 47.5 µL calibrator diluent) or calibrator were added to 150 µL assay buffer containing MPs coated with biotinylated capture antibody. The resulting mixture was incubated for one hour in a 96-well plate. The MPs were then magnetically separated, washed, and incubated with 20 µL fluorescent dye-labeled detection antibody for thirty minutes. After five washes via magnetic separation, 20 µL of elution buffer was added, and eluted detection antibody was separated from MPs using a 384-well filter plate. The eluate was then read in the Erenna instrument system. A single lot of reagents was used in this study. Animal serum and calibrators were tested in duplicate, and the results were presented as the average of the two measurements. All animal serum were provided by Lilly Research Laboratories (Greenfield, IN, USA) and tested in a manner blinded to reference test results at Singulex (Alameda, CA, USA).
Animals
Rats
Dogs
Monkeys
Study Design
Institutional Compliance Statement
Reference cTnI Determinations
Calculations of Linearity and Sensitivity
Results
Erenna cTnI Assay Characterization
cTnI Concentrations in Healthy Animals
Concordance with the Reference Method
Sample Volume The impact of variable serum volume usage was evaluated with the Erenna assay. Preliminary experiments were performed using dilutions of rat serum covering a range of 5–50 µL sample volume. Recovery (comparison of sample diluted in calibrator diluent vs the 50 µL sample volume as the reference volume) of cTnI ranged from 85% to 107% (data not shown). In the next set of experiments, concordance in cTnI values obtained from a group of rats and using 2.5 µL and 50 µL of serum from the same animal was performed. In the case of 2.5 µL serum, the resulting values were multiplied by twenty to account for the volumetric differences before data analysis. Correlation and linear regression analysis was performed on the lowest cTnI values obtained from twenty-five rats in the iso study. Using 2.5 µL of serum, all samples provided measurable cTnI (range 3–441 ng/L) with a linear regression correlation of R2= 0.97 (2.5 µL vs 50 µL serum). These results demonstrate that 2.5 µL of rat serum can be used to accurately measure cTnI with the Erenna assay.
Iso Study
Correlation of cTnI Concentrations with Histopathologic Examination of Hearts Minimal to marked increases in the concentration of cTnI occurred at one hour, two hours, four hours, and eight hours after administration of both 0.5 mg/kg and 8.0 mg/kg of iso, indicating cardiac myocyte injury and leakage of cardic troponin into the blood. The magnitude of the increases was higher in the rats given the 8.0 mg/kg dose. Cardiac TnI concentrations returned to baseline for both dose groups by the twenty-four-hour time point. The highest concentrations of cTnI occurred at the four- and eight-hour time points. Histopathologic findings in the hearts of rats administered either 0.5 or 8 mg/kg of iso were similar in character and distribution but were slightly more severe in the animals given 8 mg/kg (Table 1). Myocardial lesions were most easily recognized in samples collected twenty-four hours after dosing and consisted of discrete and variably sized areas of acute myocardial necrosis scattered throughout the ventricles, with a predilection for the subendocardium and papillary muscles. The areas of acute necrosis were characterized by fragmentation of myocytes, inflammatory cell infiltration, interstitial edema, and acute hemorrhage. Histologic changes were less obvious in samples collected at the thirty-minute to eight-hour time points and consisted of occasional individual or small clusters of hyaline fibers (swollen, hypereosinophilic myocytes) and small foci of myocytes with minimal fragmentation, interpreted as peracute necrosis. Inflammatory cell infiltration at these time points was rare. In samples collected at fifteen minutes post-dose, no definitive microscopic changes were identified.
We have demonstrated that the Erenna system is sensitive for measuring cTnI concentrations with analytical sensitivities (LoDs) < 1 ng/L, has a reporting range from 0.2 ng/L to > 5000 ng/L and can quantify rat, dog, monkey, and human cTnI concentrations, with similar reactivity across the various species. Furthermore, interassay precision of CVs < 10% at values down to 1.6 ng/L and 23% at 0.78 ng/L support its use to accurately quantify and measure changes of cTnI at low concentrations. Of note, cTnI values in rats, dogs, and monkeys were highly correlated when measured with the Singulex Erenna and Beckman Access systems. This finding is important in the context of the work performed by The International Life Sciences Institute/Health and Environmental Sciences Institute Cardiac Troponins Expert Working Group wherein performance of nine different commercial cTnI assays, including the Beckman Access, were evaluated (Apple et al. 2005, 2007; Pettit et al. 2007). We have also shown, in small populations of serum, cTnI concentrations in the 1–20 ng/L range in healthy rats, dogs, and monkeys. These findings are preliminary, and further studies with larger populations of animals are required for the establishment of reference ranges. Nevertheless, these values are similar to those that have been reported for humans and support the models put forth by Anversa et al. on myocardium homeostasis and turnover, wherein low concentrations of cTnI should be found in blood (Anversa et al. 2006; Anversa et al. 2007; Wu et al, 2006). Our findings with various species of cTnI need to be confirmed using larger numbers of animals to establish the reference range for each species. The measurement of cTnI concentrations in animals has been validated as a tool to detect and monitor cardiotoxicity, whether chemically or physically induced (Feng et al. 2005; Gaze and Collinson 2005; Hemalatha et al. 2006; Kurata et al. 2007; OBrien 2006; OBrien et al. 2006). In this study, iso-induced cardiac injury was confirmed histologically in rats. At the earliest time points, histopathological changes were not observed or were subtle, even with clear increases in cTnI concentrations. We also demonstrated individual animal variability in the response to treatment with iso in that different animals of the same species, given the same dose of iso, generated varying magnitudes of cardiotoxicity and cTnI concentrations. For example, in three dogs one hour post-iso treatment, cTnI concentrations were increased to 92, 219, and > 5000 ng/L compared to 2–3 ng/L pre-dosing. In two monkeys, values of 33 and > 5000 ng/L were noted two hours post-dosing, which gradually decreased to 1.1 and 187 ng/L by forty-eight hours, respectively. Assay serum volume requirements are of importance in studies of small animals, especially when it is desirous to obtain and analyze samples obtained across an interval of many closely timed blood draw events. We have shown that the Erenna system provides similar results in the rat when paired 2.5 µL and 50 µL serum samples were tested. Furthermore, strong concordance in cTnI values was observed in iso-treated rat samples when 2.5 µL was used in the Erenna and 140 µL was used in the Beckman Access assays. Assay sensitivity is directly proportional to sample volume. In the case of the Erenna assay, a twenty-fold reduction in sample volume resulted in a shift of assay LoD from 0.14 ng/L to approximately 2.8 ng/L. This shifted LoD remains lower than the cTnI levels noted in healthy animals, especially rats (10–20 ng/L). Thus, it was possible to quantify cTnI concentration in healthy, nontreated rats using 2.5 µL of serum. This ability could provide significant advantages in serial monitoring of small animals. In conclusion, the Erenna cTnI assay is standardized against reference material provided by NIST, and initial data suggest accurate sensitivity at the sub-ng/L concentrations and accurate quantification from 0.78 to 5000 ng/L for human, rat, dog, and monkey serum cTnI. The sensitivity of this assay can be leveraged to provide accurate quantification of cTnI in serum samples as small as 2.5 µ L, which may provide significant advantages in serial longitudinal sampling during small animal studies. Taken together, these features provide a method for assessing potential cardiotoxicity by differentiating changes in cTnI concentrations from healthy, resting-state concentrations, which have been previously considered nonmeasurable.
We thank Dr. Douglas Held, Ms. Laura Freitag, and Mr. Robert Freese for support in developing antibody reagents and assay format.
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1, 2008 Toxicologic Pathology, Vol. 36, No. 6,
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