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Molavipordanjani S, Hosseinimehr SJ. The Radiolabeled HER3 Targeting Molecules for Tumor Imaging. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH : IJPR 2021; 20:141-152. [PMID: 34400948 PMCID: PMC8170765 DOI: 10.22037/ijpr.2021.114677.14991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER) family plays pivotal roles in physiologic and pathologic conditions (such as tumor growth, proliferation, and progression in multiple epithelial malignancies). All the family members are considered tyrosine kinase, while HER3 as a member of this family shows no intrinsic tyrosine kinase. HER3 is called ‘pseudokinase’ because it undergoes heterodimerization and forms dimers such as HER2-HER3 and HER1 (EGFR)-HER3. The exact role of HER3 in cancer is still unclear; however, the overexpression of this receptor is involved in the poor prognosis of malignancies. To that end, different studies investigated the development of radiotracers for imaging of HER3. The main focus of this review is to gather all the studies on developing new radiotracers for imaging of HER3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajjad Molavipordanjani
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
| | - Seyed Jalal Hosseinimehr
- Department of Radiopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran
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Rinne SS, Orlova A, Tolmachev V. PET and SPECT Imaging of the EGFR Family (RTK Class I) in Oncology. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22073663. [PMID: 33915894 PMCID: PMC8036874 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The human epidermal growth factor receptor family (EGFR-family, other designations: HER family, RTK Class I) is strongly linked to oncogenic transformation. Its members are frequently overexpressed in cancer and have become attractive targets for cancer therapy. To ensure effective patient care, potential responders to HER-targeted therapy need to be identified. Radionuclide molecular imaging can be a key asset for the detection of overexpression of EGFR-family members. It meets the need for repeatable whole-body assessment of the molecular disease profile, solving problems of heterogeneity and expression alterations over time. Tracer development is a multifactorial process. The optimal tracer design depends on the application and the particular challenges of the molecular target (target expression in tumors, endogenous expression in healthy tissue, accessibility). We have herein summarized the recent preclinical and clinical data on agents for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) imaging of EGFR-family receptors in oncology. Antibody-based tracers are still extensively investigated. However, their dominance starts to be challenged by a number of tracers based on different classes of targeting proteins. Among these, engineered scaffold proteins (ESP) and single domain antibodies (sdAb) show highly encouraging results in clinical studies marking a noticeable trend towards the use of smaller sized agents for HER imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-704-250-782
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Dahlsson Leitao C, S. Rinne S, Altai M, Vorontsova O, Dunås F, Jonasson P, Tolmachev V, Löfblom J, Ståhl S, Orlova A. Evaluating the Therapeutic Efficacy of Mono- and Bivalent Affibody-Based Fusion Proteins Targeting HER3 in a Pancreatic Cancer Xenograft Model. Pharmaceutics 2020; 12:pharmaceutics12060551. [PMID: 32545760 PMCID: PMC7356278 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12060551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) has been increasingly scrutinized as a potential drug target since the elucidation of its role in mediating tumor growth and acquired therapy resistance. Affibody molecules are so-called scaffold proteins with favorable biophysical properties, such as a small size for improved tissue penetration and extravasation, thermal and chemical stability, and a high tolerance to modifications. Additionally, affibody molecules are efficiently produced in prokaryotic hosts or by chemical peptide synthesis. We have previously evaluated the biodistribution profiles of five mono- and bivalent anti-HER3 affibody molecules (designated as 3) fused to an albumin-binding domain (designated as A), 3A, 33A, 3A3, A33, and A3, that inhibit ligand-dependent phosphorylation. In the present study, we examined the therapeutic efficacy of the three most promising variants, 3A, 33A, and 3A3, in a direct comparison with the HER3-targeting monoclonal antibody seribantumab (MM-121) in a preclinical BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer model. Xenografted mice were treated with either an affibody construct or MM-121 and the tumor growth was compared to a vehicle group. Receptor occupancy was estimated by positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging using a HER3-targeting affibody imaging agent [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-Z08698-NODAGA. The affibody molecules could inhibit ligand-dependent phosphorylation and cell proliferation in vitro and demonstrated tumor growth inhibition in vivo comparable to that of MM-121. PET/CT imaging showed full receptor occupancy for all tested drug candidates. Treatment with 3A and 3A3 affibody constructs was more efficient than with 33A and similar to the anti-HER3 antibody seribantumab, showing that the molecular design of affibody-based therapeutics targeting HER3 in terms of the relative position of functional domains and valency has an impact on therapeutic effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Dahlsson Leitao
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (C.D.L.); (J.L.)
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); or (M.A.)
| | - Mohamed Altai
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); or (M.A.)
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (O.V.); (V.T.)
- Division of Oncology and Pathology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (O.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Finn Dunås
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden; (F.D.); (P.J.)
| | - Per Jonasson
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden; (F.D.); (P.J.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (O.V.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - John Löfblom
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (C.D.L.); (J.L.)
| | - Stefan Ståhl
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (C.D.L.); (J.L.)
- Correspondence: (S.S.); (A.O.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); or (M.A.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Correspondence: (S.S.); (A.O.)
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Rinne SS, Xu T, Dahlsson Leitao C, Ståhl S, Löfblom J, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A. Influence of Residualizing Properties of the Radiolabel on Radionuclide Molecular Imaging of HER3 Using Affibody Molecules. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21041312. [PMID: 32075258 PMCID: PMC7072899 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21041312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human epidermal growth factor receptor type 3 (HER3) is an emerging therapeutic target in several malignancies. To select potential responders to HER3-targeted therapy, radionuclide molecular imaging of HER3 expression using affibody molecules could be performed. Due to physiological expression of HER3 in normal organs, high imaging contrast remains challenging. Due to slow internalization of affibody molecules by cancer cells, we hypothesized that labeling (HE)3-ZHER3:08698-DOTAGA affibody molecule with non-residualizing [125I]-N-succinimidyl-4-iodobenzoate (PIB) label would improve the tumor-to-normal organs ratios compared to previously reported residualizing radiometal labels. The [125I]I-PIB-(HE)3-ZHER3:08698-DOTAGA was compared side-by-side with [111In]In-(HE)3-ZHER3:08698-DOTAGA. Both conjugates demonstrated specific high-affinity binding to HER3-expressing BxPC-3 and DU145 cancer cells. Biodistribution in mice bearing BxPC-3 xenografts at 4 and 24 h pi showed faster clearance of the [125I]I-PIB label compared to the indium-111 label from most tissues, except blood. This resulted in higher tumor-to-organ ratios in HER3-expressing organs for [125I]I-PIB-(HE)3-ZHER3:08698-DOTAGA at 4 h, providing the tumor-to-liver ratio of 2.4 ± 0.3. The tumor uptake of both conjugates was specific, however, it was lower for the [125I]I-PIB label. In conclusion, the use of non-residualizing [125I]I-PIB label for HER3-targeting affibody molecule provided higher tumor-to-liver ratio than the indium-111 label, however, further improvement in tumor uptake and retention is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (V.T.)
| | - Charles Dahlsson Leitao
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (C.D.L.); (S.S.); (J.L.)
| | - Stefan Ståhl
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (C.D.L.); (S.S.); (J.L.)
| | - John Löfblom
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (C.D.L.); (S.S.); (J.L.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Centrum for Oncotheranostics, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (V.T.)
- Centrum for Oncotheranostics, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (V.T.)
- Centrum for Oncotheranostics, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-18-471-3868
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Abstract
Radioisotopes can be produced artificially from stable nuclei through the interaction with particles or highly energetic photons. In combination with modern detection and counting techniques, radioisotopes and radiochemical methods uniquely contribute to the health sciences. This Collection showcases salient aspects of medical radioisotope science ranging from the production, recovery and purification of radioisotopes to the methods used to attach them to biomolecules. The Collection also presents studies that highlight the importance of radiochemistry in the assessment of environmental radioactivity.
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Increase in negative charge of 68Ga/chelator complex reduces unspecific hepatic uptake but does not improve imaging properties of HER3-targeting affibody molecules. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17710. [PMID: 31776413 PMCID: PMC6881397 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54149-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Upregulation of the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 3 (HER3) is a common mechanism to bypass HER-targeted cancer therapy. Affibody-based molecular imaging has the potential for detecting and monitoring HER3 expression during treatment. In this study, we compared the imaging properties of newly generated 68Ga-labeled anti-HER3 affibody molecules (HE)3-ZHER3-DOTA and (HE)3-ZHER3-DOTAGA with previously reported [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-ZHER3-NODAGA. We hypothesized that increasing the negative charge of the gallium-68/chelator complex would reduce hepatic uptake, which could lead to improved contrast of anti-HER3 affibody-based PET-imaging of HER3 expression. (HE)3-ZHER3-X (X = DOTA, DOTAGA) were produced and labeled with gallium-68. Binding of the new conjugates was specific in HER3 expressing BxPC-3 and DU145 human cancer cells. Biodistribution and in vivo specificity was studied in BxPC-3 xenograft bearing Balb/c nu/nu mice 3 h pi. DOTA- and DOTAGA-containing conjugates had significantly higher concentration in blood than [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-ZHER3-NODAGA. Presence of the negatively charged 68Ga-DOTAGA complex reduced the unspecific hepatic uptake, but did not improve overall biodistribution of the conjugate. [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-ZHER3-DOTAGA and [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-ZHER3-NODAGA had similar tumor-to-liver ratios, but [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-ZHER3-NODAGA had the highest tumor uptake and tumor-to-blood ratio among the tested conjugates. In conclusion, [68Ga]Ga-(HE)3-ZHER3-NODAGA remains the favorable variant for PET imaging of HER3 expression.
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Debie P, Lafont C, Defrise M, Hansen I, van Willigen DM, van Leeuwen FWB, Gijsbers R, D'Huyvetter M, Devoogdt N, Lahoutte T, Mollard P, Hernot S. Size and affinity kinetics of nanobodies influence targeting and penetration of solid tumours. J Control Release 2019; 317:34-42. [PMID: 31734445 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 11/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A compound's intratumoural distribution is an important determinant for the effectiveness of molecular therapy or imaging. Antibodies (Abs), though often used in the design of targeted compounds, struggle to achieve a homogenous distribution due to their large size and bivalent binding mechanism. In contrast, smaller compounds like nanobodies (Nbs) are expected to distribute more homogenously, though this has yet to be demonstrated in vivo at the microscopic level. We propose an intravital approach to evaluate the intratumoural distribution of different fluorescently labeled monomeric and dimeric Nb tracers and compare this with a monoclonal antibody (mAb). Monomeric and dimeric formats of the anti-HER2 (2Rb17c and 2Rb17c-2Rb17c) and control (R3B23 and R3B23-R3B23) Nb, as well as the dimeric monovalent Nb 2Rb17c-R3B23 were generated and fluorescently labeled with a Cy5 fluorophore. The mAb trastuzumab-Cy5 was also prepared. Whole-body biodistribution of all constructs was investigated in mice bearing subcutaneous xenografts (HER2+ SKOV3) using in vivo epi-fluorescence imaging. Next, for intravital experiments, GFP-expressing SKOV3 cells were grown under dorsal window chambers on athymic nude mice (n = 3/group), and imaged under a fluorescence stereo microscope immediately after intravenous injection of the tracers. Consecutive fluorescence images within the tumour were acquired over the initial 20 min after injection and later, single images were taken at 1, 3 and 24 h post-injection. Additionally, two-photon microscopy was used to investigate the colocalization of GFP (tumour cells) and Cy5 fluorescence (tracers) at higher resolution. Whole-body images showed rapid renal clearance of all Nbs, and fast tumour targeting for the specific Nbs. Specific tumour uptake of the mAb could only be clearly distinguished from background after several hours. Intravital imaging revealed that monomeric Nb tracers accumulated rapidly and distributed homogenously in the tumour mere minutes after intravenous injection. The dimeric compounds initially achieved lower fluorescence intensities than the monomeric. Furthermore, whereas the HER2-specific dimeric bivalent compound remained closely associated to the blood vessels over 24 h, the HER2-specific dimeric monovalent tracer achieved a more homogenous tumour distribution from 1 h post-injection onwards. Non-specific tracers were not retained in the tumour. Trastuzumab had the most heterogenous intratumoural distribution of all evaluated compounds, while -due to the long blood retention- achieving the highest overall tumour uptake at 24 h post-injection. In conclusion, monomeric Nbs very quickly and homogenously distribute through tumour tissue, at a rate significantly greater than dimeric Nbs and mAbs. This underlines the potential of monomeric Nb tracers and therapeutics in molecular imaging and targeted therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieterjan Debie
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Chrystel Lafont
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, CNRS, INSERM, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Michel Defrise
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Inge Hansen
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Danny M van Willigen
- Interventional Molecular Imaging laboratory, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Fijs W B van Leeuwen
- Interventional Molecular Imaging laboratory, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Rik Gijsbers
- Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Gene therapy, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthias D'Huyvetter
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nick Devoogdt
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Tony Lahoutte
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Nuclear Medicine, UZBrussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Patrice Mollard
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, CNRS, INSERM, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Sophie Hernot
- Laboratory for In vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging, ICMI-BEFY, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
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