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Rodrigues Toledo C, Tantawy AA, Lima Fuscaldi L, Malavolta L, de Aguiar Ferreira C. EGFR- and Integrin α Vβ 3-Targeting Peptides as Potential Radiometal-Labeled Radiopharmaceuticals for Cancer Theranostics. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:8553. [PMID: 39126121 PMCID: PMC11313252 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The burgeoning field of cancer theranostics has witnessed advancements through the development of targeted molecular agents, particularly peptides. These agents exploit the overexpression or mutations of specific receptors, such as the Epidermal Growth Factor receptor (EGFR) and αVβ3 integrin, which are pivotal in tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Despite the extensive research into and promising outcomes associated with antibody-based therapies, peptides offer a compelling alternative due to their smaller size, ease of modification, and rapid bioavailability, factors which potentially enhance tumor penetration and reduce systemic toxicity. However, the application of peptides in clinical settings has challenges. Their lower binding affinity and rapid clearance from the bloodstream compared to antibodies often limit their therapeutic efficacy and diagnostic accuracy. This overview sets the stage for a comprehensive review of the current research landscape as it relates to EGFR- and integrin αVβ3-targeting peptides. We aim to delve into their synthesis, radiolabeling techniques, and preclinical and clinical evaluations, highlighting their potential and limitations in cancer theranostics. This review not only synthesizes the extant literature to outline the advancements in peptide-based agents targeting EGFR and integrin αVβ3 but also identifies critical gaps that could inform future research directions. By addressing these gaps, we contribute to the broader discourse on enhancing the diagnostic precision and therapeutic outcomes of cancer treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cibele Rodrigues Toledo
- The Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; (C.R.T.); (A.A.T.)
| | - Ahmed A. Tantawy
- The Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; (C.R.T.); (A.A.T.)
- Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Leonardo Lima Fuscaldi
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo School of Medical Sciences, São Paulo 01221-020, Brazil; (L.L.F.); (L.M.)
| | - Luciana Malavolta
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo School of Medical Sciences, São Paulo 01221-020, Brazil; (L.L.F.); (L.M.)
| | - Carolina de Aguiar Ferreira
- The Institute for Quantitative Health Science & Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA; (C.R.T.); (A.A.T.)
- Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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Li L, Chen X, Yu J, Yuan S. Preliminary Clinical Application of RGD-Containing Peptides as PET Radiotracers for Imaging Tumors. Front Oncol 2022; 12:837952. [PMID: 35311120 PMCID: PMC8924613 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.837952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Angiogenesis is a common feature of many physiological processes and pathological conditions. RGD-containing peptides can strongly bind to integrin αvβ3 expressed on endothelial cells in neovessels and several tumor cells with high specificity, making them promising molecular agents for imaging angiogenesis. Although studies of RGD-containing peptides combined with radionuclides, namely, 18F, 64Cu, and 68Ga for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging have shown high spatial resolution and accurate quantification of tracer uptake, only a few of these radiotracers have been successfully translated into clinical use. This review summarizes the RGD-based tracers in terms of accumulation in tumors and adjacent tissues, and comparison with traditional 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) imaging. The value of RGD-based tracers for diagnosis, differential diagnosis, tumor subvolume delineation, and therapeutic response prediction is mainly discussed. Very low RGD accumulation, in contrast to high FDG metabolism, was found in normal brain tissue, indicating that RGD-based imaging provides an excellent tumor-to-background ratio for improved brain tumor imaging. However, the intensity of the RGD-based tracers is much higher than FDG in normal liver tissue, which could lead to underestimation of primary or metastatic lesions in liver. In multiple studies, RGD-based imaging successfully realized the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of solid tumors and also the prediction of chemoradiotherapy response, providing complementary rather than similar information relative to FDG imaging. Of most interest, baseline RGD uptake values can not only be used to predict the tumor efficacy of antiangiogenic therapy, but also to monitor the occurrence of adverse events in normal organs. This unique dual predictive value in antiangiogenic therapy may be better than that of FDG-based imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Xiaoyuan Chen
- Departments of Diagnostic Radiology, Surgery, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Clinical Imaging Research Centre, Centre for Translational Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Nanomedicine Translational Research Program, NUS Center for Nanomedicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jinming Yu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Shuanghu Yuan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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Fu H, Du B, Chen Z, Li Y. Radiolabeled Peptides for SPECT and PET Imaging in the Detection of Breast Cancer: Preclinical and Clinical Perspectives. Curr Med Chem 2021; 27:6987-7002. [PMID: 32003658 DOI: 10.2174/0929867327666200128110827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 12/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Due to the heterogeneous nature of breast cancer, the optimal treatment and expected response for each patient may not necessarily be universal. Molecular imaging techniques could play an important role in the early detection and targeted therapy evaluation of breast cancer. This review focuses on the development of peptides labeled with SPECT and PET radionuclides for breast cancer imaging. We summarized the current status of radiolabeled peptides for different receptors in breast cancer. The characteristics of radionuclides and major techniques for peptide labeling are also briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Fu
- Medical College of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Bulin Du
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China
| | - Zijun Chen
- Medical College of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Yesen Li
- Department of Nuclear Medicine & Minnan PET Center, Xiamen Cancer Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Teaching Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Xiamen, China
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Chakraborty S, Das S, Chakravarty R, Sarma HD, Vatsa R, Shukla J, Mittal BR, Dash A. An improved kit formulation for one-pot synthesis of [ 99m Tc]Tc-HYNIC-E[c(RGDfK)] 2 for routine clinical use in cancer imaging. J Labelled Comp Radiopharm 2019; 62:823-834. [PMID: 31315149 DOI: 10.1002/jlcr.3786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Radiolabeled Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide derivatives have immense potential for non-invasive monitoring of malignancies overexpressing integrin αv β3 receptors. Easy availability of suitable radiotracers would augment the utility of this class of molecular imaging agents. Towards this, the present article describes the development of an improved lyophilized kit for the routine clinical formulation of [99m Tc]Tc complex of HYNIC-conjugated dimeric cyclic RGD peptide derivative E-[c(RGDfK)]2 (E = glutamic acid, f = phenyl alanine, K = lysine) without using Sn2+ and systematic evaluation of its efficacy. Five batches of the kits were prepared, and [99m Tc]Tc-HYNIC-E[c(RGDfK)]2 radiotracer was synthesized with high radiochemical purity (98.6 ± 0.5%) and specific activity (124.8 GBq/μmol) using the kits. Biodistribution studies in C57BL/6 mice bearing melanoma tumor exhibited significant accumulation of the radiotracer in tumor (5.32 ± 0.56 %ID/g at 60 min p.i.), and this uptake was also found to be receptor-specific by blocking studies. Preliminary human clinical investigations carried out in 10 breast cancer patients revealed high radiotracer uptake in the tumor along with good tumor-to-background contrast. The developed kit formulation showed an exceptionally high shelf-life of at least 18 months. These results demonstrated promising attributes of the developed kit formulation and warrant more extensive clinical investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudipta Chakraborty
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.,Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India
| | - Soumen Das
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India.,Radiopharmaceuticals Programme, Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology, Navi Mumbai, India
| | - Rubel Chakravarty
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.,Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India
| | - Haladhar Dev Sarma
- Radiation Biology and Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
| | - Rakhee Vatsa
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
| | - Jaya Shukla
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
| | - Bhagwant Rai Mittal
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
| | - Ashutosh Dash
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.,Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, India
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Jain A, Chakraborty S, Sarma HD, Dash A. A Systematic Comparative Evaluation of 68Ga-Labeled RGD Peptides Conjugated with Different Chelators. Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2017; 52:125-134. [PMID: 29662561 DOI: 10.1007/s13139-017-0499-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The present paper reports a systematic study on the effect of bifunctional chelators (BFC) namely, NOTA, DOTA, and DTPA, on the radiochemical formulation, in vitro stability, and in vivo biological properties of 68Ga-labeled RGD peptide derivatives. Methods The three RGD conjugates namely, NOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2, DOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2, and DTPA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 were radiolabeled with 68Ga and the radiolabeling was optimized with respect to the ligand amount, radiolabeling time, and temperature. Further, the 68Ga complexes were assessed for their in vitro and in vivo stabilities. The biodistribution studies of the three radiolabeled conjugates were carried out in C57BL/6 mice bearing melanoma tumor at 30 min and 1 h post-adimistration. Results NOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 could be radiolabeled with 68Ga at room temperature while DOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 and DTPA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 were radiolabeled at high temperature. 68Ga-NOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 was found to be the most kinetically rigid in in vitro stability assay. The uptake of the three radiolabeled peptide conjugates in melanoma tumor was comparable at 1 h post-administration (NOTA; DOTA; DTPA (% I.D./g):: 2.78 ± 0.38; 3.08 ± 1.1; 3.36 ± 0.49). However, the tumor/background ratio of 68Ga-NOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 was the best amongst the three radiotracers. 68Ga-complexes of NOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 and DOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 showed excellent in vivo stability while 68Ga-DTPA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 showed significant metabolic degradation. Conclusion These studies show that 68Ga-NOTA-Bn-E-[c(RGDfk)]2 would be the most appropriate 68Ga-labeled radiotracer and the most amenable for kit formulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akanksha Jain
- 1Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085 India.,2Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400 094 India
| | - Sudipta Chakraborty
- 1Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085 India.,2Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400 094 India
| | - H D Sarma
- 3Radiation Biology & Health Sciences Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085 India
| | - Ashutosh Dash
- 1Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085 India.,2Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400 094 India
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Chakravarty R, Chakraborty S, Ram R, Dash A. An electroamalgamation approach to separate 47Sc from neutron-activated 46Ca target for use in cancer theranostics. SEP SCI TECHNOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/01496395.2017.1295994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rubel Chakravarty
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai India
| | - Sudipta Chakraborty
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai India
| | - Ramu Ram
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai India
| | - Ashutosh Dash
- Radiopharmaceuticals Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai India
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Chakravarty R, Chakraborty S, Radhakrishnan ER, Kamaleshwaran K, Shinto A, Dash A. Clinical 68Ga-PET: Is radiosynthesis module an absolute necessity? Nucl Med Biol 2017; 46:1-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2016.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2016] [Revised: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 11/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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