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Pringle TA, Ramon-Gil E, Leslie J, Oakley F, Wright MC, Knight JC, Luli S. Synthesis and preclinical evaluation of a 89Zr-labelled human single chain antibody for non-invasive detection of hepatic myofibroblasts in acute liver injury. Sci Rep 2024; 14:633. [PMID: 38182623 PMCID: PMC10770171 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50779-w] [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: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Synaptophysin is expressed on fibrogenic hepatic myofibroblasts. C1-3 is a single chain human antibody (scAb) that binds specifically to synaptophysin on hepatic myofibroblasts, providing a targeting vector for novel in vivo imaging agents of chronic liver disease. C1-3 and a negative control scAb, CSBD9, were radiolabelled with zirconium-89 via desferrioxamine chelation to enable non-invasive molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET). DFO-scAb conjugates were characterised by gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and MALDI-TOF spectrometry, and 89Zr-labelled with high radiolabelling efficiency (99%). [89Zr]Zr-DFO-C1-3 exhibited high in vitro stability (> 99%) in mouse and human sera over 3 days at 25 and 37 °C. Activated hepatic myofibroblasts incubated with [89Zr]Zr-DFO-C1-3 displayed significantly higher internalised activity (59.46%, P = 0.001) compared to the [89Zr]Zr-DFO-CSBD9 control, indicating synaptophysin-mediated uptake and high binding specificity of [89Zr]Zr-DFO-C1-3. Mice with CCl4-induced acute liver damage exhibited significantly higher liver uptake of [89Zr]Zr-DFO-C1-3, compared to controls, confirmed by both Cerenkov imaging and ex vivo gamma counting (4.41 ± 0.19%ID/g, P < 0.0001). CCl4-induced liver damage and the number of hepatic myofibroblasts was confirmed by αSMA staining of liver sections. These findings indicate that [89Zr]Zr-DFO-C1-3 has promising utility as a PET imaging agent for non-invasive detection of hepatic myofibroblasts following acute liver injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni A Pringle
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Bedson Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Erik Ramon-Gil
- Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Newcastle Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Jack Leslie
- Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Newcastle Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Fiona Oakley
- Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Newcastle Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Matthew C Wright
- Liver Research Group, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - James C Knight
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Bedson Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
- Newcastle Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
| | - Saimir Luli
- Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
- Newcastle Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
- Preclinical In Vivo Imaging, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
- Medical School, Newcastle University, 4th Floor William Leech Building, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK.
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