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Kazim M, Yoo E. Recent Advances in the Development of Non-Invasive Imaging Probes for Cancer Immunotherapy. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202310694. [PMID: 37843426 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202310694] [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: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 10/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
The last two decades have witnessed a major revolution in the field of tumor immunology including clinical progress using various immunotherapy strategies. These advances have highlighted the potential for approaches that harness the power of the immune system to fight against cancer. While cancer immunotherapies have shown significant clinical successes, patient responses vary widely due to the complex and heterogeneous nature of tumors and immune responses, calling for reliable biomarkers and therapeutic strategies to maximize the benefits of immunotherapy. Especially, stratifying responding individuals from non-responders during the early stages of treatment could help avoid long-term damage and tailor personalized treatments. In efforts to develop non-invasive means for accurately evaluating and predicting tumor response to immunotherapy, multiple affinity-based agents targeting immune cell markers and checkpoint molecules have been developed and advanced to clinical trials. In addition, researchers have recently turned their attention to substrate and activity-based imaging probes that can provide real-time, functional assessment of immune response to treatment. Here, we highlight some of those recently designed probes that image functional proteases as biomarkers of cancer immunotherapy with a focus on their chemical design and detection modalities and discuss challenges and opportunities for the development of imaging tools utilized in cancer immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Kazim
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Euna Yoo
- Chemical Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
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Kheyrolahzadeh K, Tohidkia MR, Tarighatnia A, Shahabi P, Nader ND, Aghanejad A. Theranostic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells: Insight into recent trends and challenges in solid tumors. Life Sci 2023; 328:121917. [PMID: 37422069 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/10/2023]
Abstract
Cell therapy has reached significant milestones in various life-threatening diseases, including cancer. Cell therapy using fluorescent and radiolabeled chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell is a successful strategy for diagnosing or treating malignancies. Since cell therapy approaches have different results in cancers, the success of hematological cancers has yet to transfer to solid tumor therapy, leading to more casualties. Therefore, there are many areas for improvement in the cell therapy platform. Understanding the therapeutic barriers associated with solid cancers through cell tracking and molecular imaging may provide a platform for effectively delivering CAR-T cells into solid tumors. This review describes CAR-T cells' role in treating solid and non-solid tumors and recent advances. Furthermore, we discuss the main obstacles, mechanism of action, novel strategies and solutions to overcome the challenges from molecular imaging and cell tracking perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keyvan Kheyrolahzadeh
- Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imam Reza General Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Tohidkia
- Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Ali Tarighatnia
- Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Parviz Shahabi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Nader D Nader
- Department of Anesthesiology, University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, United States of America
| | - Ayuob Aghanejad
- Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imam Reza General Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
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Man F, Tang J, Swedrowska M, Forbes B, T M de Rosales R. Imaging drug delivery to the lungs: Methods and applications in oncology. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2023; 192:114641. [PMID: 36509173 PMCID: PMC10227194 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2022.114641] [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: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Direct delivery to the lung via inhalation is arguably one of the most logical approaches to treat lung cancer using drugs. However, despite significant efforts and investment in this area, this strategy has not progressed in clinical trials. Imaging drug delivery is a powerful tool to understand and develop novel drug delivery strategies. In this review we focus on imaging studies of drug delivery by the inhalation route, to provide a broad overview of the field to date and attempt to better understand the complexities of this route of administration and the significant barriers that it faces, as well as its advantages. We start with a discussion of the specific challenges for drug delivery to the lung via inhalation. We focus on the barriers that have prevented progress of this approach in oncology, as well as the most recent developments in this area. This is followed by a comprehensive overview of the different imaging modalities that are relevant to lung drug delivery, including nuclear imaging, X-ray imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging and mass spectrometry imaging. For each of these modalities, examples from the literature where these techniques have been explored are provided. Finally the different applications of these technologies in oncology are discussed, focusing separately on small molecules and nanomedicines. We hope that this comprehensive review will be informative to the field and will guide the future preclinical and clinical development of this promising drug delivery strategy to maximise its therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis Man
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College London, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom
| | - Jie Tang
- School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom
| | - Magda Swedrowska
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College London, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom
| | - Ben Forbes
- School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College London, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom
| | - Rafael T M de Rosales
- School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom.
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Siafaka PI, Okur ME, Erim PD, Çağlar EŞ, Özgenç E, Gündoğdu E, Köprülü REP, Karantas ID, Üstündağ Okur N. Protein and Gene Delivery Systems for Neurodegenerative Disorders: Where Do We Stand Today? Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:2425. [PMID: 36365243 PMCID: PMC9698227 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14112425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been estimated that every year, millions of people are affected by neurodegenerative disorders, which complicate their lives and their caregivers' lives. To date, there has not been an approved pharmacological approach to provide the complete treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. The only available drugs may only relieve the symptoms or slow down the progression of the disease. The absence of any treatment is quite rational given that neurodegeneration occurs by the progressive loss of the function or structure of the nerve cells of the brain or the peripheral nervous system, which eventually leads to their death either by apoptosis or necrotic cell death. According to a recent study, even though adult brain cells are injured, they can revert to an embryonic state, which may help to restore their function. These interesting findings might open a new path for the development of more efficient therapeutic strategies to combat devastating neurodegenerative disorders. Gene and protein therapies have emerged as a rapidly growing field for various disorders, especially neurodegenerative diseases. Despite these promising therapies, the complete treatment of neurodegenerative disorders has not yet been achieved. Therefore, the aim of this review is to address the most up-to-date data for neurodegenerative diseases, but most importantly, to summarize the available delivery systems incorporating proteins, peptides, and genes that can potentially target such diseases and pass into the blood-brain barrier. The authors highlight the advancements, at present, on delivery based on the carrier, i.e., lipid, polymeric, and inorganic, as well as the recent studies on radiopharmaceutical theranostics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mehmet Evren Okur
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul 34668, Turkey
| | - Pelin Dilsiz Erim
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Regenerative and Restorative Medical Research Center (REMER), Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul 34810, Turkey
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Altınbaş University, Istanbul 34217, Turkey
| | - Emre Şefik Çağlar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul 34668, Turkey
| | - Emre Özgenç
- Department of Radiopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ege University, Izmir 35040, Turkey
| | - Evren Gündoğdu
- Department of Radiopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ege University, Izmir 35040, Turkey
| | - Rabia Edibe Parlar Köprülü
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Institute of Health Sciences, İstanbul Medipol University, Istanbul 34810, Turkey
| | | | - Neslihan Üstündağ Okur
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul 34668, Turkey
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Volpe A, Adusumilli PS, Schöder H, Ponomarev V. Imaging cellular immunotherapies and immune cell biomarkers: from preclinical studies to patients. J Immunother Cancer 2022; 10:jitc-2022-004902. [PMID: 36137649 PMCID: PMC9511655 DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellular immunotherapies have emerged as a successful therapeutic approach to fight a wide range of human diseases, including cancer. However, responses are limited to few patients and tumor types. An in-depth understanding of the complexity and dynamics of cellular immunotherapeutics, including what is behind their success and failure in a patient, the role of other immune cell types and molecular biomarkers in determining a response, is now paramount. As the cellular immunotherapy arsenal expands, whole-body non-invasive molecular imaging can shed a light on their in vivo fate and contribute to the reliable assessment of treatment outcome and prediction of therapeutic response. In this review, we outline the non-invasive strategies that can be tailored toward the molecular imaging of cellular immunotherapies and immune-related components, with a focus on those that have been extensively tested preclinically and are currently under clinical development or have already entered the clinical trial phase. We also provide a critical appraisal on the current role and consolidation of molecular imaging into clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Volpe
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Prasad S Adusumilli
- Thoracic Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA,Cellular Therapeutics Center, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA,Center for Cell Engineering, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Heiko Schöder
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Vladimir Ponomarev
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA,Center for Cell Engineering, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA,Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, USA
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Reporter Genes for Brain Imaging Using MRI, SPECT and PET. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23158443. [PMID: 35955578 PMCID: PMC9368793 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23158443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of molecular imaging technologies for brain imaging can not only play an important supporting role in disease diagnosis and treatment but can also be used to deeply study brain functions. Recently, with the support of reporter gene technology, optical imaging has achieved a breakthrough in brain function studies at the molecular level. Reporter gene technology based on traditional clinical imaging modalities is also expanding. By benefiting from the deeper imaging depths and wider imaging ranges now possible, these methods have led to breakthroughs in preclinical and clinical research. This article focuses on the applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET) reporter gene technologies for use in brain imaging. The tracking of cell therapies and gene therapies is the most successful and widely used application of these techniques. Meanwhile, breakthroughs have been achieved in the research and development of reporter genes and their imaging probe pairs with respect to brain function research. This paper introduces the imaging principles and classifications of the reporter gene technologies of these imaging modalities, lists the relevant brain imaging applications, reviews their characteristics, and discusses the opportunities and challenges faced by clinical imaging modalities based on reporter gene technology. The conclusion is provided in the last section.
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Sato N, Choyke PL. Whole-Body Imaging to Assess Cell-Based Immunotherapy: Preclinical Studies with an Update on Clinical Translation. Mol Imaging Biol 2021; 24:235-248. [PMID: 34816284 PMCID: PMC8983636 DOI: 10.1007/s11307-021-01669-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
In the past decades, immunotherapies against cancers made impressive progress. Immunotherapy includes a broad range of interventions that can be separated into two major groups: cell-based immunotherapies, such as adoptive T cell therapies and stem cell therapies, and immunomodulatory molecular therapies such as checkpoint inhibitors and cytokine therapies. Genetic engineering techniques that transduce T cells with a cancer-antigen-specific T cell receptor or chimeric antigen receptor have expanded to other cell types, and further modulation of the cells to enhance cancer targeting properties has been explored. Because cell-based immunotherapies rely on cells migrating to target organs or tissues, there is a growing interest in imaging technologies that non-invasively monitor transferred cells in vivo. Here, we review whole-body imaging methods to assess cell-based immunotherapy using a variety of examples. Following a review of preclinically used cell tracking technologies, we consider the status of their clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriko Sato
- Molecular Imaging Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 10/Rm. B3B406, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Peter L Choyke
- Molecular Imaging Branch, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 10/Rm. B3B69F, 10 Center Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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Covalent 18F-Radiotracers for SNAPTag: A New Toolbox for Reporter Gene Imaging. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:ph14090897. [PMID: 34577597 PMCID: PMC8466261 DOI: 10.3390/ph14090897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a need for versatile in vivo nuclear imaging reporter systems to foster preclinical and clinical research. We explore the applicability of the SNAPTag and novel radiolabeled small-molecule ligands as a versatile reporter gene system for in vivo nuclear imaging. SNAPTag is a high-affinity protein tag used in a variety of biochemical research areas and based on the suicide DNA repair enzyme O6-methylguanine methyl transferase (MGMT). Its ligands are well suited for reporter gene imaging as the benzyl guanine core scaffold can be derivatized with fluorescent or radiolabeled moieties for various applications. Three guanine-based SNAPTag ligands ([18F]FBBG, [18F]pFBG and [18F]mFBG) were synthesized in high yields and were (radio)chemically characterized. HEK293 cells were engineered to express the SNAPTag on the cell surface and served as cell model to assess target affinity by radiotracer uptake assays, Western blotting and SDS-PAGE autoradiography. A subcutaneous HEK293-SNAPTag xenograft model in immunodeficient mice was used for in vivo evaluation of [18F]FBBG and [18F]pFBG while the biodistribution of [18F]mFBG was characterized in naïve animals. The results were validated by ex vivo biodistribution studies and immunofluorescence staining of the xenografts. All three radiotracers were produced in high radiochemical purity, molar activity and good yields. Western blot analysis revealed successful SNAPTag expression by the transfected HEK293 cells. In vitro testing revealed high target affinity of all three tracers with an up to 191-fold higher signal in the HEK293-SNAPTag cells compared to untransfected cells. This was further supported by a prominent radioactive protein band at the expected size in the SDS-PAGE autoradiograph of cells incubated with [18F]FBBG or [18F]pFBG. The in vivo studies demonstrated high uptake in HEK293-SNAP xenografts compared to HEK293 xenografts with excellent tumor-to-muscle ratios (7.5 ± 4.2 for [18F]FBBG and 10.6 ± 6.2 for [18F]pFBG). In contrast to [18F]pFBG and its chemical analogue [18F]mFBG, [18F]FBBG showed no signs of unspecific bone uptake and defluorination in vivo. Radiolabeled SNAPTag ligands bear great potential for clinical applications such as in vivo tracking of cell populations, antibody fragments and targeted radiotherapy. With excellent target affinity, good stability, and low non-specific binding, [18F]FBBG is a highly promising candidate for further preclinical evaluation.
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