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An S, Zhang D, Zhang Y, Wang C, Shi L, Wei W, Huang G, Liu J. GPC3-targeted immunoPET imaging of hepatocellular carcinomas. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2022; 49:2682-2692. [PMID: 35147737 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-022-05723-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a clinical challenge. Glypican 3 (GPC3) is a proteoglycan highly specific for HCC and is a potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for HCC. This work aims to develop GPC3-targeted immuno-positron emission tomography (immunoPET) imaging strategies and to assess the diagnostic values in preclinical HCC models. METHODS Flow cytometry was used to screen GPC3-positive HCC cell lines. The expression of GPC3 in HCCs was detected by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarray. A novel GPC3-specific single domain antibody (sdAb) was produced and labeled with gallium-68 (68Ga, T1/2 = 1.1 h) and fluorine-18 (18F, T1/2 = 1.8 h) to develop radiotracers with different half-lives. The diagnostic efficacies of the developed probes (i.e., [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-G2, [18F]F-G2, and [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-ABDG2) were interrogated in preclinical HCC models bearing varying GPC3 levels. RESULTS GPC3 was strongly expressed on HCC cell lines and patients with poorly differentiated HCC. [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-G2 immunoPET imaging specifically delineated the subcutaneous HCC lesions, outperforming the traditional 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET and the nonspecific [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-NbGFP immunoPET. ImmunoPET imaging with [18F]F-G2 also efficiently diagnosed the tumors with clarity. Moreover, the fusion of G2 to an albumin-binding domain (ABD) significantly increased the tumor uptake and decreased kidney accumulation of the radiotracer when compared to [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-G2. CONCLUSIONS In the work, we successfully developed sdAb-derived GPC3-targeted immunoPET imaging strategies and characterized the superior diagnostic accuracies in preclinical HCC models. Furthermore, we synthesized a fusion protein ABDG2 with improved targeting and pharmacokinetic properties, serving as a promising candidate for developing radioimmunotherapy agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuxian An
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Di Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - You Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Liang Shi
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 68 Changle Rd, Nanjing, 210006, China
| | - Weijun Wei
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China.
| | - Gang Huang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China.
| | - Jianjun Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1630 Dongfang Rd, Shanghai, 200127, China.
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