Radiolabeled Anti-Adenosine Triphosphate Synthase Monoclonal Antibody as a Theragnostic Agent Targeting Angiogenesis

Application of Photoactive Compounds in Cancer Theranostics: Review on Recent Trends from Photoactive Chemistry to Artificial Intelligence

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the number of cancer cases and deaths worldwide is predicted to nearly double by 2030, reaching 21.7 million cases and 13 million fatalities. The increase in cancer mortality is due to limitations in the diagnosis and treatment options that are currently available. The close relationship between diagnostics and medicine has made it possible for cancer patients to receive precise diagnoses and individualized care. This article discusses newly developed compounds with potential for photodynamic therapy and diagnostic applications, as well as those already in use. In addition, it discusses the use of artificial intelligence in the analysis of diagnostic images obtained using, among other things, theranostic agents.

177Lu Anti-Angiogenic Radioimmunotherapy Targeting ATP Synthase in Gastric Cancer Model

This study investigated a novel radioimmunotherapy strategy for targeting tumor angiogenesis. We developed a radiopharmaceutical complex by labeling an anti-adenosine triphosphate synthase (ATPS) monoclonal antibody (mAb) with the radioisotope 177Lu using DOTA as a chelating agent. 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb demonstrated high labeling efficiency (99.0%) and stability in serum. MKN-45 cancer cells exhibited the highest cellular uptake, which could be specifically blocked by unlabeled ATPS mAb. In mice, 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb accumulated significantly in tumors, with a tumor uptake of 16.0 ± 1.5%ID/g on day 7. 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb treatment significantly reduced the viability of MKN-45 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In a xenograft tumor model, this radioimmunotherapy strategy led to substantial tumor growth inhibition (82.8%). Furthermore, combining 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb with sunitinib, an anti-angiogenic drug, enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of sunitinib in the mouse model. Our study successfully developed 177Lu-DOTA-ATPS mAb, a radioimmunotherapy agent targeting tumor blood vessels. This approach demonstrates significant promise for inhibiting tumor growth, both as a single therapy and in combination with other anti-cancer drugs.

MOZART, a QSAR Multi-Target Web-Based Tool to Predict Multiple Drug-Enzyme Interactions

Developing models able to predict interactions between drugs and enzymes is a primary goal in computational biology since these models may be used for predicting both new active drugs and the interactions between known drugs on untested targets. With the compilation of a large dataset of drug-enzyme pairs (62,524), we recognized a unique opportunity to attempt to build a novel multi-target machine learning (MTML) quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model for probing interactions among different drugs and enzyme targets. To this end, this paper presents an MTML-QSAR model based on using the features of topological drugs together with the artificial neural network (ANN) multi-layer perceptron (MLP). Validation of the final best model found was carried out by internal cross-validation statistics and other relevant diagnostic statistical parameters. The overall accuracy of the derived model was found to be higher than 96%. Finally, to maximize the diffusion of this model, a public and accessible tool has been developed to allow users to perform their own predictions. The developed web-based tool is public accessible and can be downloaded as free open-source software.

Application and Importance of Theranostics in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer

The number of cancer cases worldwide in terms of morbidity and mortality is a serious concern, despite the presence of therapeutic interventions and supportive care. Limitations in the current available diagnosis methods and treatments methods may contribute to the increase in cancer mortality. Theranostics, is a novel approach that has opened avenues for the simultaneous precise diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients. Although still in the early development stage, theranostic agents such as quantum dots, radioisotopes, liposomes and plasmonic nanobubbles can be bound to anticancer drugs, cancer cell markers and imaging agents, with the support of available imaging techniques, provide the potential to facilitate diagnosis, treatment and management of cancer patients. Herein, we discuss the potential benefits of several theranostic tools for the management of cancer. Specifically, quantum dots, radio-labelled isotopes, liposomes and plasmonic nanobubbles coupled with targeting agents and/or anticancer molecules and imaging agents as theranostic agents are deliberated upon in this review. Overall, the use of theranostic agents shows promise in cancer management. Nevertheless, intensive research is required to realize these expectations.

Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Intratumoral Injection of 125I-AA98 mAb and Its Efficacy Assessments by Molecular Imaging

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of intratumoral injection of ¹²⁵I-AA98 mAb for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its therapy efficacy assessment by ^99mTc-HYNIC-duramycin and ^99mTc-HYNIC-3PRGD2 SPECT/CT imaging.

Methods: HCC xenograft tumor mice models were injected intratumorally with a single dose of normal saline, 10 microcurie (μCi) ¹²⁵I-AA98 mAb, free ¹²⁵I, AA98 mAb, 80 μCi ¹²⁵I-AA98 mAb, and 200 μCi ¹²⁵I-AA98 mAb. ^99mTc-HYNIC-duramycin and ^99mTc-HYNIC-3PRGD2 micro-SPECT/CT imaging were performed on days 3 and 7, respectively. The T/M ratio for each imaging was compared with the corresponding immunohistochemical staining at each time point. The relative tumor inhibition rates were documented.

Results: In terms of apoptosis, the 200 μCi group demonstrated the highest apoptotic index (11.8 ± 3.8%), and its T/M ratio achieved by ^99mTc-HYNIC-duramycin imaging on day 3 was higher than that of the normal saline group, 80 μCi group, 10 μCi group and free ¹²⁵I group on day 3, respectively (all P < 0.05). On day 3, there was a markedly positive correlation between T/M ratio from ^99mTc-HYNIC-duramycin imaging and apoptotic index by TUNEL staining (r = 0.6981; P < 0.05). Moreover, the 200 μCi group showed the lowest T/M ratio on ^99mTc-HYNIC-3PRGD2 imaging (1.0 ± 0.5) on day 7 (all P < 0.05) comparing to other groups. The T/M ratio on day 7 was not correlated with integrin α_νβ₃ staining (P > 0.05). The relative inhibitory rates of tumor on day 14 in the AA98 mAb, 10 μCi, 80 μCi, free ¹²⁵I, and 200 μCi groups were 26.3, 55.3, 60.5, 66.3, and 69.5%, respectively.

Conclusion:¹²⁵I-AA98 mAb showed more effective apoptosis induced ability for CD146 high expression Hep G2 HCC cells and hold the potential for HCC treatment. Moreover, ^99mTc-HYNIC-Duramycin (apoptosis-targeted) imaging and ^99mTc-HYNIC-3PRGD2 (angiogenesis-targeted) imaging are reliable non-invasive methods to evaluate the efficacy of targeted treatment of HCC.

Polyethylenimine and sodium cholate-modified ethosomes complex as multidrug carriers for the treatment of melanoma through transdermal delivery

Aim: Multidrug resistance is the main reason for the failure of chemotherapy during the treatment of the tumor. To overcome multidrug resistance, this study attempts to develop a novel transdermal drug-delivery system (TDDS) loading cytotoxic drug and chemosensitizer. Materials & methods: The polyethylenimine-modified ethosomes (Eth^-PEI) and sodium cholate-modified ethosomes (Eth^-SC) were firstly fabricated, and then a novel TDDS based on the carriers complex of Eth^-PEI/Eth^-SC was prepared by electrostatic interaction and evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. Results: The Eth^-PEI/Eth^-SC showed the excellent antitumor effect on treating melanoma, using doxorubicin and curcumin as the cytotoxic drug and chemosensitizer, respectively. Conclusion: The as-prepared TDDS composed of Eth^-PEI/Eth^-SC loading multidrug is an effective means for treating melanoma.

Zr-89 Immuno-PET Targeting Ectopic ATP Synthase Enables In-Vivo Imaging of Tumor Angiogenesis

In this study, we synthesized a Zr-89-labeled anti-adenosine triphosphate synthase monoclonal antibody (ATPS mAb) for applications in immuno-positron emission tomography (PET) and evaluated its feasibility for angiogenesis imaging. The cellular uptake of Zr-89 ATPS mAb was measured after treatment of cancer cell lines in vitro, and its biodistribution was evaluated at 4, 24 and 48 h in vivo in mice bearing xenografts. PET images were acquired at 4, 24, 48, and 96 h after Zr-89 ATPS mAb administration. Tumor angiogenesis was analyzed using anti-CD31 immunofluorescence staining. The cellular uptake of Zr-89 ATPS mAb increased over time in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells but did not increase in PC3 prostate cancer cells. The tumor uptake of Zr-89 ATPS mAb at 24 h was 9.4 ± 0.9% ID/g for MDA-Mb-231 cells and was 3.8 ± 0.6% ID/g for PC3 cells (p = 0.004). Zr-89 ATPS mAb uptake in MDA-MB-231 xenografts was inhibited by the administration of cold ATPS mAb (4.4 ± 0.5% ID/g, p = 0.011). Zr-89 ATPS mAb uptake could be visualized by PET for up to 96 h in MDA-MB-231 tumors. In contrast, there was no distinct tumor uptake detected by PET in the PC3 xenograft model. CD31-positive tumor vessels were abundant in MDA-MB-231 tumors, whereas they were scarcely detected in PC3 tumors. In conclusion, ATPS mAb was successfully labeled with Zr-89, which could be used for immuno-PET imaging targeting tumor angiogenesis.