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Zhang T, Ma X, Xu M, Cai J, Cai J, Cao Y, Zhang Z, Ji X, He J, Cabrera GOF, Wu X, Zhao W, Wu Z, Xie J, Li Z. Chelator boosted tumor-retention and pharmacokinetic properties: development of 64Cu labeled radiopharmaceuticals targeting neurotensin receptor. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2024; 51:3322-3333. [PMID: 38771516 PMCID: PMC11368631 DOI: 10.1007/s00259-024-06754-2] [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: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Accumulating evidence suggests that neurotensin (NTS) and neurotensin receptors (NTSRs) play key roles in lung cancer progression by triggering multiple oncogenic signaling pathways. This study aims to develop Cu-labeled neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1)-targeting agents with the potential for both imaging and therapeutic applications. METHOD A series of neurotensin receptor antagonists (NRAs) with variable propylamine (PA) linker length and different chelators were synthesized, including [64Cu]Cu-CB-TE2A-iPA-NRA ([64Cu]Cu-4a-c, i = 1, 2, 3), [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-2PA-NRA ([64Cu]Cu-4d), [64Cu]Cu-DOTA-2PA-NRA ([64Cu]Cu-4e, also known as [64Cu]Cu-3BP-227), and [64Cu]Cu-DOTA-VS-2PA-NRA ([64Cu]Cu-4f). The series of small animal PET/CT were conducted in H1299 lung cancer model. The expression profile of NTSR1 was also confirmed by IHC using patient tissue samples. RESULTS For most of the compounds studied, PET/CT showed prominent tumor uptake and high tumor-to-background contrast, but the tumor retention was strongly influenced by the chelators used. For previously reported 4e, [64Cu]Cu-labeled derivative showed initial high tumor uptake accompanied by rapid tumor washout at 24 h. The newly developed [64Cu]Cu-4d and [64Cu]Cu-4f demonstrated good tumor uptake and tumor-to-background contrast at early time points, but were less promising in tumor retention. In contrast, our lead compound [64Cu]Cu-4b demonstrated 9.57 ± 1.35, 9.44 ± 2.38 and 9.72 ± 4.89%ID/g tumor uptake at 4, 24, and 48 h p.i., respectively. Moderate liver uptake (11.97 ± 3.85, 9.80 ± 3.63, and 7.72 ± 4.68%ID/g at 4, 24, and 48 h p.i.) was observed with low uptake in most other organs. The PA linker was found to have a significant effect on drug distribution. Compared to [64Cu]Cu-4b, [64Cu]Cu-4a had a lower background, including a greatly reduced liver uptake, while the tumor uptake was only moderately reduced. Meanwhile, [64Cu]Cu-4c showed increased uptake in both the tumor and the liver. The clinical relevance of NTSR1 was also demonstrated by the elevated tumor expression in patient tissue samples. CONCLUSIONS Through the side-by-side comparison, [64Cu]Cu-4b was identified as the lead agent for further evaluation based on its high and sustained tumor uptake and moderate liver uptake. It can not only be used to efficiently detect NTSR1 expression in lung cancer (for diagnosis, patient screening, and treatment monitoring), but also has the great potential to treat NTSR-positive lesions once chelating to the beta emitter 67Cu.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA.
- Department of Radiopharmaceuticals, Nuclear Medicine Clinical Transformation Center, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, China.
| | - Xinrui Ma
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
- Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, NC, North Carolina State University, NC 27599, USA
| | - Muyun Xu
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Jinghua Cai
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Jianhua Cai
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Yanguang Cao
- Division of Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Zhihao Zhang
- Department of Radiopharmaceuticals, Nuclear Medicine Clinical Transformation Center, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Xin Ji
- Department of Radiopharmaceuticals, Nuclear Medicine Clinical Transformation Center, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Jian He
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - German Oscar Fonseca Cabrera
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Xuedan Wu
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Weiling Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Zhanhong Wu
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA
| | - Jin Xie
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, 302 East Campus Road, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.
| | - Zibo Li
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina , 27599, USA.
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Xu M, Ma X, Pigga JE, Zhang H, Wang S, Zhao W, Deng H, Wu AM, Liu R, Wu Z, Fox JM, Li Z. Development of 18F-Labeled hydrophilic trans-cyclooctene as a bioorthogonal tool for PET probe construction. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:14387-14390. [PMID: 37877355 PMCID: PMC10785124 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc04212j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
We report the development of a hydrophilic 18F-labeled a-TCO derivative [18F]3 (log P = 0.28) through a readily available precursor and a single-step radiofluorination reaction (RCY up to 52%). We demonstrated that [18F]3 can be used to construct not only multiple small molecule/peptide-based PET agents, but protein/diabody-based imaging probes in parallel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muyun Xu
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Xinrui Ma
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Jessica E Pigga
- Department of Chemistry, the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 19716, USA.
| | - He Zhang
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Shuli Wang
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Weiling Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Huaifu Deng
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Anna M Wu
- Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapy, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, California, 91010, USA
| | - Rihe Liu
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Zhanhong Wu
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
| | - Joseph M Fox
- Department of Chemistry, the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, 19716, USA.
| | - Zibo Li
- Department of Radiology, Biomedical Research Imaging Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
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