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Ioannidis I, Lefkaritis G, Georgiades SN, Pashalidis I, Kontoghiorghes GJ. Towards Clinical Development of Scandium Radioisotope Complexes for Use in Nuclear Medicine: Encouraging Prospects with the Chelator 1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic Acid (DOTA) and Its Analogues. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:5954. [PMID: 38892142 PMCID: PMC11173192 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25115954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Scandium (Sc) isotopes have recently attracted significant attention in the search for new radionuclides with potential uses in personalized medicine, especially in the treatment of specific cancer patient categories. In particular, Sc-43 and Sc-44, as positron emitters with a satisfactory half-life (3.9 and 4.0 h, respectively), are ideal for cancer diagnosis via Positron Emission Tomography (PET). On the other hand, Sc-47, as an emitter of beta particles and low gamma radiation, may be used as a therapeutic radionuclide, which also allows Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) imaging. As these scandium isotopes follow the same biological pathway and chemical reactivity, they appear to fit perfectly into the "theranostic pair" concept. A step-by-step description, initiating from the moment of scandium isotope production and leading up to their preclinical and clinical trial applications, is presented. Recent developments related to the nuclear reactions selected and employed to produce the radionuclides Sc-43, Sc-44, and Sc-47, the chemical processing of these isotopes and the main target recovery methods are also included. Furthermore, the radiolabeling of the leading chelator, 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA), and its structural analogues with scandium is also discussed and the advantages and disadvantages of scandium complexation are evaluated. Finally, a review of the preclinical studies and clinical trials involving scandium, as well as future challenges for its clinical uses and applications, are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Ioannidis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus; (I.I.); (G.L.); (S.N.G.); (I.P.)
| | - George Lefkaritis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus; (I.I.); (G.L.); (S.N.G.); (I.P.)
| | - Savvas N. Georgiades
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus; (I.I.); (G.L.); (S.N.G.); (I.P.)
| | - Ioannis Pashalidis
- Department of Chemistry, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus; (I.I.); (G.L.); (S.N.G.); (I.P.)
| | - George J. Kontoghiorghes
- Postgraduate Research Institute of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine, 3021 Limassol, Cyprus
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Trencsényi G, Képes Z. Scandium-44: Diagnostic Feasibility in Tumor-Related Angiogenesis. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087400. [PMID: 37108559 PMCID: PMC10138813 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Angiogenesis-related cell-surface molecules, including integrins, aminopeptidase N, vascular endothelial growth factor, and gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR), play a crucial role in tumour formation. Radiolabelled imaging probes targeting angiogenic biomarkers serve as valuable vectors in tumour identification. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in novel radionuclides other than gallium-68 (68Ga) or copper-64 (64Cu) to establish selective radiotracers for the imaging of tumour-associated neo-angiogenesis. Given its ideal decay characteristics (Eβ+average: 632 KeV) and a half-life (T1/2 = 3.97 h) that is well matched to the pharmacokinetic profile of small molecules targeting angiogenesis, scandium-44 (44Sc) has gained meaningful attention as a promising radiometal for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. More recently, intensive research has been centered around the investigation of 44Sc-labelled angiogenesis-directed radiopharmaceuticals. Previous studies dealt with the evaluation of 44Sc-appended avb3 integrin-affine Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) tripeptides, GRPR-selective aminobenzoyl-bombesin analogue (AMBA), and hypoxia-associated nitroimidazole derivatives in the identification of various cancers using experimental tumour models. Given the tumour-related hypoxia- and angiogenesis-targeting capability of these PET probes, 44Sc seems to be a strong competitor of the currently used positron emitters in radiotracer development. In this review, we summarize the preliminary preclinical achievements with 44Sc-labelled angiogenesis-specific molecular probes.
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Affiliation(s)
- György Trencsényi
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zita Képes
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
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Kálmán-Szabó I, Szabó JP, Arató V, Dénes N, Opposits G, Jószai I, Kertész I, Képes Z, Fekete A, Szikra D, Hajdu I, Trencsényi G. PET Probes for Preclinical Imaging of GRPR-Positive Prostate Cancer: Comparative Preclinical Study of [ 68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-AMBA and [ 44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231710061. [PMID: 36077458 PMCID: PMC9456106 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231710061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) are overexpressed in prostate cancer (PCa). Since bombesin analogue aminobenzoic-acid (AMBA) binds to GRPR with high affinity, scandium-44 conjugated AMBA is a promising radiotracer in the PET diagnostics of GRPR positive tumors. Herein, the GRPR specificity of the newly synthetized [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA was investigated in vitro and in vivo applying PCa PC-3 xenograft. After the in-vitro assessment of receptor binding, PC-3 tumor-bearing mice were injected with [44Sc]Sc/[68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-AMBA (in blocking studies with bombesin) and in-vivo PET examinations were performed to determine the radiotracer uptake in standardized uptake values (SUV). 44Sc/68Ga-labelled NODAGA-AMBA was produced with high molar activity (approx. 20 GBq/µmoL) and excellent radiochemical purity. The in-vitro accumulation of [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA in PC-3 cells was approximately 25-fold higher than that of the control HaCaT cells. Relatively higher uptake was found in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo in the same tumor with the 44Sc-labelled probe compared to [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-AMBA. The GRPR specificity of [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA was confirmed by significantly (p ≤ 0.01) decreased %ID and SUV values in PC-3 tumors after bombesin pretreatment. The outstanding binding properties of the novel [44Sc]Sc-NODAGA-AMBA to GRPR outlines its potential to be a valuable radiotracer in the imaging of GRPR-positive PCa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibolya Kálmán-Szabó
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Gyula Petrányi Doctoral School of Clinical Immunology and Allergology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Judit P. Szabó
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Viktória Arató
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Noémi Dénes
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Gábor Opposits
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Jószai
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Kertész
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zita Képes
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Anikó Fekete
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Dezső Szikra
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Hajdu
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - György Trencsényi
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Translational Imaging, Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Gyula Petrányi Doctoral School of Clinical Immunology and Allergology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei St. 98, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Correspondence:
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