1
|
Zhang J, Bodenko V, Larkina M, Bezverkhniaia E, Xu T, Liao Y, Abouzayed A, Plotnikov E, Tretyakova M, Yuldasheva F, Belousov MV, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Gräslund T, Vorobyeva A. Half-life extension via ADB-fusion leads to higher tumor uptake of an affibody-drug conjugate compared to PAS- and XTENylation. J Control Release 2024:S0168-3659(24)00280-3. [PMID: 38697314 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.04.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
A critical parameter during the development of protein therapeutics is to endow them with suitable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Small protein drugs are quickly eliminated by kidney filtration, and in vivo half-life extension is therefore often desired. Here, different half-life extension technologies were studied where PAS polypeptides (PAS300, PAS600), XTEN polypeptides (XTEN288, XTEN576), and an albumin binding domain (ABD) were compared for half-life extension of an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) affibody-drug conjugate. The results showed that extension with the PAS or XTEN polypeptides or the addition of the ABD lowered the affinity for HER2 to some extent but did not negatively affect the cytotoxic potential. The half-lives in mice ranged from 7.3 h for the construct including PAS300 to 11.6 h for the construct including PAS600. The highest absolute tumor uptake was found for the construct including the ABD, which was 60 to 160% higher than the PASylated or XTENylated constructs, even though it did not have the longest half-life (9.0 h). A comparison of the tumor-to-normal-organ ratios showed the best overall performance of the ABD-fused construct. In conclusion, PASylation, XTENylation, and the addition of an ABD are viable strategies for half-life extension of affibody-drug conjugates, with the best performance observed for the construct, including the ABD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhang
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm 114 17, Sweden
| | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; Scientific and Educational Laboratory of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Siberian State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Mariia Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; Siberian State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | | | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yunqi Liao
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ayman Abouzayed
- National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Evgenii Plotnikov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Maria Tretyakova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Feruza Yuldasheva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Mikhail V Belousov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; Siberian State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Tomsk 634050, Russia; National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm 114 17, Sweden.
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kanellopoulos P, Bezverkhniaia E, Abouzayed A, Rosenström U, Tolmachev V, Orlova A. Two Novel [ 68Ga]Ga-Labeled Radiotracers Based on Metabolically Stable [Sar 11]RM26 Antagonistic Peptide for Diagnostic Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of GRPR-Positive Prostate Cancer. ACS Omega 2024; 9:18608-18616. [PMID: 38680331 PMCID: PMC11044165 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.4c01348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) is overexpressed in prostate cancer (PC-3) and can be used for diagnostic purposes. We herein present the design and preclinical evaluation of two novel NOTA/NODAGA-containing peptides suitable for labeling with the positron emission tomography (PET) radionuclide Ga-68. These analogs are based on the previously reported GRPR-antagonist DOTAGA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26, developed for targeted radiotheraostic applications. Both NOTA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26 and NODAGA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26 were successfully labeled with Ga-68 and evaluated in vitro and in vivo using PC-3 cell models. Both, [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26 and [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26 displayed high metal-chelate stability in phosphate buffered saline and against the EDTA-challenge. The two [68Ga]Ga-labeled conjugates demonstrated highly GRPR-mediated uptake in vitro and in vivo and exhibited a slow internalization over time, typical for radioantagonistis. The [natGa]Ga-loaded peptides displayed affinity in the low nanomole range for GRPR in competition binding experiments. The new radiotracers demonstrated biodistribution profiles suitable for diagnostic imaging shortly after administration with fast background clearance. Their high tumor uptake (13 ± 1 and 15 ± 3% IA/g for NOTA and NODAGA conjugates, respectively) and high tumor-to-blood ratios (60 ± 10 and 220 ± 70, respectively) 3 h pi renders them promising PET tracers for use in patients. Tumor-to-normal organ ratios were higher for [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26 than for the NOTA-containing counterpart. The performance of the two radiopeptides was further supported with the PET/CT images. In conclusion, [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-PEG2-[Sar11]RM26 is a promising PET imaging tracer for visualization of GRPR-expressing lesions with high imaging contrast shortly after administration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ayman Abouzayed
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 23, Sweden
| | - Ulrika Rosenström
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 23, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department
of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala
University, Uppsala 752 37, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department
of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 23, Sweden
- Science
for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala 752 37, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Oroujeni M, Carlqvist M, Ryer E, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Frejd FY. Comparison of approaches for increasing affinity of affibody molecules for imaging of B7-H3: dimerization and affinity maturation. EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem 2024; 9:30. [PMID: 38625607 PMCID: PMC11021382 DOI: 10.1186/s41181-024-00261-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radionuclide molecular imaging can be used to visualize the expression levels of molecular targets. Affibody molecules, small and high affinity non-immunoglobulin scaffold-based proteins, have demonstrated promising properties as targeting vectors for radionuclide tumour imaging of different molecular targets. B7-H3 (CD276), an immune checkpoint protein belonging to the B7 family, is overexpressed in different types of human malignancies. Visualization of overexpression of B7-H3 in malignancies enables stratification of patients for personalized therapies. Affinity maturation of anti-B7-H3 Affibody molecules as an approach to improve the binding affinity and targeting properties was recently investigated. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that a dimeric format may be an alternative option to increase the apparent affinity of Affibody molecules to B7-H3 and accordingly improve imaging contrast. RESULTS Two dimeric variants of anti-B7-H3 Affibody molecules were produced (designated ZAC12*-ZAC12*-GGGC and ZAC12*-ZTaq_3-GGGC). Both variants were labelled with Tc-99m (99mTc) and demonstrated specific binding to B7-H3-expressing cells in vitro. [99mTc]Tc-ZAC12*-ZAC12*-GGGC showed subnanomolar affinity (KD1=0.28 ± 0.10 nM, weight = 68%), which was 7.6-fold higher than for [99mTc]Tc-ZAC12*-ZTaq_3-GGGC (KD=2.1 ± 0.9 nM). Head-to-head biodistribution of both dimeric variants of Affibody molecules compared with monomeric affinity matured SYNT-179 (all labelled with 99mTc) in mice bearing B7-H3-expressing SKOV-3 xenografts demonstrates that both dimers have lower tumour uptake and lower tumour-to-organ ratios compared to the SYNT-179 Affibody molecule. CONCLUSION The improved functional affinity by dimerization does not compensate the disadvantage of increased molecular size for imaging purposes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden.
- Affibody AB, Solna, 171 65, Sweden.
| | | | - Eva Ryer
- Affibody AB, Solna, 171 65, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 751 83, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Y Frejd
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 751 85, Sweden
- Affibody AB, Solna, 171 65, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Deyev SM, Oroujeni M, Garousi J, Gräslund T, Li R, Rosly AHB, Orlova A, Konovalova E, Schulga A, Vorobyeva A, Tolmachev V. Preclinical Evaluation of HER2-Targeting DARPin G3: Impact of Albumin-Binding Domain (ABD) Fusion. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4246. [PMID: 38673831 PMCID: PMC11050402 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Designed ankyrin repeat protein (DARPin) G3 is an engineered scaffold protein. This small (14.5 kDa) targeting protein binds with high affinity to human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). HER2 is overexpressed in several cancers. The use of the DARPin G3 for radionuclide therapy is complicated by its high renal reabsorption after clearance via the glomeruli. We tested the hypothesis that a fusion of the DARPin G3 with an albumin-binding domain (ABD) would prevent rapid renal excretion and high renal reabsorption resulting in better tumour targeting. Two fusion proteins were produced, one with the ABD at the C-terminus (G3-ABD) and another at the N-terminus (ABD-G3). Both variants were labelled with 177Lu. The binding properties of the novel constructs were evaluated in vitro and their biodistribution was compared in mice with implanted human HER2-expressing tumours. Fusion with the ABD increased the retention time of both constructs in blood compared with the non-ABD-fused control. The effect of fusion with the ABD depended strongly on the order of the domains in the constructs, resulting in appreciably better targeting properties of [177Lu]Lu-G3-ABD. Our data suggest that the order of domains is critical for the design of targeting constructs based on scaffold proteins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergey M. Deyev
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (S.M.D.); (E.K.); (A.S.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (J.G.); (A.H.B.R.); (A.V.)
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Javad Garousi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (J.G.); (A.H.B.R.); (A.V.)
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (T.G.); (R.L.)
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (T.G.); (R.L.)
| | - Ruonan Li
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (T.G.); (R.L.)
| | - Alia Hani Binti Rosly
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (J.G.); (A.H.B.R.); (A.V.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (S.M.D.); (E.K.); (A.S.)
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (S.M.D.); (E.K.); (A.S.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (J.G.); (A.H.B.R.); (A.V.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (J.G.); (A.H.B.R.); (A.V.)
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Obeid K, Kanellopoulos P, Abouzayed A, Mattsson A, Tolmachev V, Nock BA, Maina T, Orlova A. GRPR-Antagonists Carrying DOTAGA-Chelator via Positively Charged Linkers: Perspectives for Prostate Cancer Theranostics. Pharmaceutics 2024; 16:513. [PMID: 38675174 PMCID: PMC11054746 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16040513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR)-antagonists have served as motifs in the development of theranostic radioligands for prostate cancer. Our efforts have been focused on the development of radiolabeled RM26 (H-DPhe6-Gln7-Trp8-Ala9-Val10-Gly11-His12-Sta13-Leu14-NH2) analogs, such as [111In]In-DOTAGA-PEG2-RM26. We recently showed that its Gly11/Sar11-substituted version, [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1, resisted degradation by neprilysin (NEP) while in circulation and achieved higher tumor uptake in mice. We herein introduce the following three new AU-RM26-M1 mimics labeled with In-111, with basic residues in the linker: (i) AU-RM26-M2 (PEG2-Pip), (ii) AU-RM26-M3 (PEG2-Arg), and (iii) AU-RM26-M4 (Arg-Arg-Pip). These analogs were compared in PC-3 cells and animal models vs. AU-RM26-M1 (reference). The new analogs showed high affinity and specificity for the GRPR, exhibiting an uptake and distribution pattern in PC-3 cells typical for a radiolabeled GRPR-antagonist. They showed high stability in peripheral mice blood, except for [111In]In-AU-RM26-M3. AU-RM26-M4 achieved the highest tumor uptake and promising background clearance, followed by [111In]In-RM26-M2, showing lower background levels. These findings were confirmed for [111In]In-AU-RM26-M2 and [111In]In-AU-RM26-M4 by micro-SPECT/CT at 4 and 24 h post-injection. Hence, the type of positively charged residues in the linker of AU-RM26-M1 mimics strongly influenced biological behavior. The analogs with Pip next to DPhe6 demonstrated the best overall characteristics and warrant further investigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Karim Obeid
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (K.O.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (K.O.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (A.M.)
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece; (B.A.N.); (T.M.)
| | - Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (K.O.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Adam Mattsson
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (K.O.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (A.M.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Berthold A. Nock
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece; (B.A.N.); (T.M.)
| | - Theodosia Maina
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, 15341 Athens, Greece; (B.A.N.); (T.M.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (K.O.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (A.M.)
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Larkina M, Varvashenya R, Yuldasheva F, Plotnikov E, Bezverkhniaia E, Tretyakova M, Zelchan R, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Vorobyeva A, Belousov M, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Deyev S. Comparative Preclinical Evaluation of HYNIC-Modified Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins G3 for the 99mTc-Based Imaging of HER2-Expressing Malignant Tumors. Mol Pharm 2024; 21:1919-1932. [PMID: 38557163 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c01173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
HER2 status determination is a necessary step for the proper choice of therapy and selection of patients for the targeted treatment of cancer. Targeted radiotracers such as radiolabeled DARPins provide a noninvasive and effective way for the molecular imaging of HER2 expression. This study aimed to evaluate tumor-targeting properties of three 99mTc-labeled DARPin G3 variants containing Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys (G3C), (Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser)3-Cys ((G3S)3C), or Glu-Glu-Glu-Cys (E3C) amino acid linkers at the C-terminus and conjugated to the HYNIC chelating agent, as well as to compare them with the clinically evaluated DARPin G3 labeled with 99mTc(CO)3 using the (HE)3-tag at the N-terminus. The labeling of DARPin G3-HYNIC variants provided radiochemical yields in the range of 50-80%. Labeled variants bound specifically to human HER2-expressing cancer cell lines with affinities in the range of 0.5-3 nM. There was no substantial influence of the linker and HYNIC chelator on the binding of 99mTc-labeled DARPin G3 variants to HER2 in vitro; however, [99mTc]Tc-G3-(G3S)3C-HYNIC had the highest affinity. Comparative biodistribution of [99mTc]Tc-G3-G3C-HYNIC, [99mTc]Tc-G3-(G3S)3C-HYNIC, [99mTc]Tc-G3-E3C-HYNIC, and [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 in healthy CD1 mice showed that there was a strong influence of the linkers on uptake in normal tissues. [99mTc]Tc-G3-E3C-HYNIC had an increased retention of activity in the liver and the majority of other organs compared to the other conjugates. The tumor uptake of [99mTc]Tc-G3-(G3S)3C-HYNIC and [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 in Nu/j mice bearing SKOV-3 xenografts was similar. The specificity of tumor targeting in vivo was demonstrated for both tracers. [99mTc]Tc-G3-(G3S)3C-HYNIC provided comparable, although slightly lower tumor-to-lung, tumor-to spleen and tumor-to-liver ratios than [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3. Radiolabeling of DARPin G3-HYNIC conjugates with 99mTc provided the advantage of a single-step radiolabeling procedure; however, the studied HYNIC conjugates did not improve imaging contrast compared to the 99mTc-tricarbonyl-labeled DARPin G3. At this stage, [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 remains the most promising candidate for the clinical imaging of HER2-overexpressing cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Ruslan Varvashenya
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Feruza Yuldasheva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Evgenii Plotnikov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Ekaterina Bezverkhniaia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Maria Tretyakova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Roman Zelchan
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mikhail Belousov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sergey Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Bezverkhniaia E, Kanellopoulos P, Rosenström U, Tolmachev V, Orlova A. Influence of Molecular Design on the Tumor Targeting and Biodistribution of PSMA-Binding Tracers Labeled with Technetium-99m. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3615. [PMID: 38612427 PMCID: PMC11011439 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Previously, we designed the EuK-based PSMA ligand BQ0413 with an maE3 chelator for labeling with technetium-99m. It showed efficient tumor targeting, but our preclinical data and preliminary clinical results indicated that the renal excretion levels need to be decreased. We hypothesized that this could be achieved by a decrease in the ligand's total negative charge, achieved by substituting negatively charged glutamate residues in the chelator with glycine. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tumor targeting and biodistribution of two new PSMA inhibitors, BQ0411 and BQ0412, compared to BQ0413. Conjugates were radiolabeled with Tc-99m and characterized in vitro, using PC3-pip cells, and in vivo, using NMRI and PC3-pip tumor-bearing mice. [99mTc]Tc-BQ0411 and [99mTc]Tc-BQ0412 demonstrated PSMA-specific binding to PC3-pip cells with picomolar affinity. The biodistribution pattern for the new conjugates was characterized by rapid excretion. The tumor uptake for [99mTc]Tc-BQ0411 was 1.6-fold higher compared to [99mTc]Tc-BQ0412 and [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413. [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 has demonstrated predominantly renal excretion, while the new conjugates underwent both renal and hepatobiliary excretion. In this study, we have demonstrated that in such small targeting ligands as PSMA-binding EuK-based pseudopeptides, the structural blocks that do not participate in binding could have a crucial role in tumor targeting and biodistribution. The presence of a glycine-based coupling linker in BQ0411 and BQ0413 seems to optimize biodistribution. In conclusion, the substitution of amino acids in the chelating sequence is a promising method to alter the biodistribution of [99mTc]Tc-labeled small-molecule PSMA inhibitors. Further improvement of the biodistribution properties of BQ0413 is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Bezverkhniaia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (U.R.)
| | - Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (U.R.)
| | - Ulrika Rosenström
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (U.R.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (U.R.)
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Bragina O, Tashireva L, Loos D, Chernov V, Hober S, Tolmachev V. Evaluation of Approaches for the Assessment of HER2 Expression in Breast Cancer by Radionuclide Imaging Using the Scaffold Protein [ 99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6. Pharmaceutics 2024; 16:445. [PMID: 38675107 PMCID: PMC11053875 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16040445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2024] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Due to its small size and high affinity binding, the engineered scaffold protein ADAPT6 is a promising targeting probe for radionuclide imaging of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2). In a Phase I clinical trial, [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 demonstrated safety, tolerability and capacity to visualize HER2 expression in primary breast cancer. In this study, we aimed to select the optimal parameters for distinguishing between breast cancers with high and low expression of HER2 using [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 in a planned Phase II study. HER2 expression was evaluated in primary tumours and metastatic axillary lymph nodes (mALNs). SPECT/CT imaging of twenty treatment-naive breast cancer patients was performed 2 h after injection of [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6. The imaging data were compared with the data concerning HER2 expression obtained by immunohistochemical evaluation of samples obtained by core biopsy. Maximum Standard Uptake Values (SUVmax) afforded the best performance for both primary tumours and mALNs (areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC AUC) of 1.0 and 0.97, respectively). Lesion-to-spleen ratios provided somewhat lower performance. However, the ROC AUCs were still over 0.90 for both primary tumours and mALNs. Thus, lesion-to-spleen ratios should be further evaluated to find if these could be applied to imaging using stand-alone SPECT cameras that do not permit SUV calculations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga Bragina
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostics, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634014, Russia; (O.B.); (V.C.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634009, Russia;
| | - Liubov Tashireva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634009, Russia;
- Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Therapy, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634014, Russia
- Department of General and Molecular Pathology, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Tomsk 634014, Russia;
| | - Dmitriy Loos
- Department of General and Molecular Pathology, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Tomsk 634014, Russia;
| | - Vladimir Chernov
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostics, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634014, Russia; (O.B.); (V.C.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634009, Russia;
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 81 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Kanellopoulos P, Mattsson A, Abouzayed A, Obeid K, Nock BA, Tolmachev V, Maina T, Orlova A. Preclinical evaluation of new GRPR-antagonists with improved metabolic stability for radiotheranostic use in oncology. EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem 2024; 9:13. [PMID: 38366299 PMCID: PMC10873254 DOI: 10.1186/s41181-024-00242-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) has been extensively studied as a biomolecular target for peptide-based radiotheranostics. However, the lack of metabolic stability and the rapid clearance of peptide radioligands, including radiolabeled GRPR-antagonists, often impede clinical application. Aiming at circumventing these drawbacks, we have designed three new GRPR-antagonist radioligands using [99mTc]Tc-DB15 ([99mTc]Tc-N4-AMA-DIG-DPhe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Sar-His-Leu-NHEt; AMA: p-aminomethylaniline; DIG: diglycolate) as a motif, due to its high GRPR-affinity and stability to neprilysin (NEP). The new analogues carry the DOTAGA-chelator (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1-glutaric acid-4,7,10-triacetic acid) through different linkers at the N-terminus to allow for labeling with the theranostic radionuclide pair In-111/Lu-177. After labeling with In-111 the following radioligands were evaluated: (i) [111In]In-AU-SAR-M1 ([111In]In-DOTAGA-AMA-DIG-DPhe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Sar-His-Leu-NHEt), (ii) [111In]In-AU-SAR-M2 ([111In]In-[DOTAGA-Arg]AU-SAR-M1) and (iii) [111In]In-AU-SAR-M3 ([111In]In-[DOTAGA-DArg]AU-SAR-M1). RESULTS These radioligands were compared in a series of in vitro assays using prostate adenocarcinoma PC-3 cells and in murine models. They all displayed high and GRPR-specific uptake in PC-3 cells. Analysis of mice blood collected 5 min post-injection (pi) revealed similar or even higher metabolic stability of the new radioligands compared with [99mTc]Tc-DB15. The stability could be further increased when the mice were treated with Entresto® to in situ induce NEP-inhibition. In PC-3 xenograft-bearing mice, [111In]In-AU-SAR-M1 displayed the most favourable biodistribution profile, combining a good tumor retention with the highest tumor-to-organ ratios, with the kidneys as the dose-limiting organ. CONCLUSIONS These findings strongly point at AU-SAR-M1 as a promising radiotherapeutic candidate when labeled with Lu-177, or other medically appealing therapeutic radiometals, especially when combined with in situ NEP-inhibition. To this goal further investigations are currently pursued.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183, Uppsala, Sweden
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR "Demokritos", 15341, Athens, Greece
| | - Adam Mattsson
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Karim Obeid
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Berthold A Nock
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR "Demokritos", 15341, Athens, Greece
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75183, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Theodosia Maina
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR "Demokritos", 15341, Athens, Greece
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 75237, Uppsala, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Bezverkhniaia E, Kanellopoulos P, Abouzayed A, Larkina M, Oroujeni M, Vorobyeva A, Rosenström U, Tolmachev V, Orlova A. Preclinical Evaluation of a Novel High-Affinity Radioligand [ 99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 Targeting Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA). Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:17391. [PMID: 38139219 PMCID: PMC10743726 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242417391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Radionuclide imaging using radiolabeled inhibitors of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) can be used for the staging of prostate cancer. Previously, we optimized the Glu-urea-Lys binding moiety using a linker structure containing 2-napththyl-L-alanine and L-tyrosine. We have now designed a molecule that contains mercaptoacetyl-triglutamate chelator for labeling with Tc-99m (designated as BQ0413). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the imaging properties of [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413. PSMA-transfected PC3-pip cells were used to evaluate the specificity and affinity of [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 binding in vitro. PC3-pip tumor-bearing BALB/C nu/nu mice were used as an in vivo model. [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 bound specifically to PC3-pip cells with an affinity of 33 ± 15 pM. In tumor-bearing mice, the tumor uptake of [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 (38 ± 6 %IA/g in PC3-pip 3 h after the injection of 40 pmol) was dependent on PSMA expression (3 ± 2 %IA/g and 0.9 ± 0.3 %IA/g in PSMA-negative PC-3 and SKOV-3 tumors, respectively). We show that both unlabeled BQ0413 and the commonly used binder PSMA-11 enable the blocking of [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 uptake in normal PSMA-expressing tissues without blocking the uptake in tumors. This resulted in an appreciable increase in tumor-to-organ ratios. At the same injected mass (5 nmol), the use of BQ0413 was more efficient in suppressing renal uptake than the use of PSMA-11. In conclusion, [99mTc]Tc-BQ0413 is a promising probe for the visualization of PSMA-positive lesions using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Bezverkhniaia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (U.R.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634009 Tomsk, Russia;
- Scientific and Research Laboratory of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (U.R.)
| | - Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (U.R.)
| | - Mariia Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634009 Tomsk, Russia;
- Scientific and Research Laboratory of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (V.T.)
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Ulrika Rosenström
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (U.R.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden; (E.B.); (P.K.); (A.A.); (U.R.)
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Abouzayed A, Seitova K, Lundmark F, Bodenko V, Oroujeni M, Tolmachev V, Rosenström U, Orlova A. 177Lu-labeled PSMA targeting therapeutic with optimized linker for treatment of disseminated prostate cancer; evaluation of biodistribution and dosimetry. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1221103. [PMID: 37829345 PMCID: PMC10565663 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1221103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), highly expressed in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), is an established therapeutic target. Theranostic PSMA-targeting agents are widely used in patient management and has shown improved outcomes for mCRPC patients. Earlier, we optimized a urea-based probe for radionuclide visualization of PSMA-expression in vivo using computer modeling. With the purpose to develop a targeting agent equally suitable for radionuclide imaging and therapy, the agent containing DOTA chelator was designed (BQ7876). The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that 177Lu-labeled BQ7876 possesses target binding and biodistribution properties potentially enabling its use for radiotherapy. Methods BQ7876 was synthesized and labeled with Lu-177. Specificity and affinity of [177Lu]Lu-BQ7876 to PSMA-expressing PC3-pip cells was evaluated and its processing after binding to cells was studied. Animal studies in mice were performed to assess its biodistribution in vivo, target specificity and dosimetry. [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 was simultaneously evaluated for comparison. Results BQ7876 was labeled with Lu-177 with radiochemical yield >99%. Its binding to PSMA was specific in vitro and in vivo when tested in antigen saturation conditions as well as in PSMA-negative PC-3 tumors. The binding of [177Lu]Lu-BQ7876 to living cells was characterized by rapid association, while the dissociation included a rapid and a slow phase with affinities KD1 = 3.8 nM and KD2 = 25 nM. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration for natLu-BQ7876 was 59 nM that is equal to 61 nM for natLu-PSMA-617. Cellular processing of [177Lu]Lu-BQ7876 was accompanied by slow internalization. [177Lu]Lu-BQ7876 was cleared from blood and normal tissues rapidly. Initial elevated uptake in kidneys decreased rapidly, and by 3 h post injection, the renal uptake (13 ± 3%ID/g) did not differ significantly from tumor uptake (9 ± 3%ID/g). Tumor uptake was stable between 1 and 3 h followed by a slow decline. The highest absorbed dose was in kidneys, followed by organs and tissues in abdomen. Discussion Biodistribution studies in mice demonstrated that targeting properties of [177Lu]Lu-BQ7876 are not inferior to properties of [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617, but do not offer any decisive advantages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kamila Seitova
- Scientific and Research Laboratory of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Fanny Lundmark
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Scientific and Research Laboratory of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Affibody AB, Solna, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ulrika Rosenström
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Bragina O, Chernov V, Larkina M, Rybina A, Zelchan R, Garbukov E, Oroujeni M, Loftenius A, Orlova A, Sörensen J, Frejd FY, Tolmachev V. Phase I clinical evaluation of 99mTc-labeled Affibody molecule for imaging HER2 expression in breast cancer. Theranostics 2023; 13:4858-4871. [PMID: 37771776 PMCID: PMC10526658 DOI: 10.7150/thno.86770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The determination of tumor human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) status is of increasing importance with the recent approval of more efficacious HER2-targeted treatments. There is a lack of suitable methods for clinical in vivo HER2 expression assessment. Affibody molecules are small affinity proteins ideal for imaging detection of receptors, which are engineered using a small (molecular weight 6.5 kDa) nonimmunoglobulin scaffold. Labeling of Affibody molecules with positron emitters enabled the development of sensitive and specific agents for molecular imaging. The development of probes for SPECT would permit the use of Affibody-based imaging in regions where PET is not available. In this first-in-human study, we evaluated the safety, biodistribution, and dosimetry of the 99mTc-ZHER2:41071 Affibody molecule developed for SPECT/CT imaging of HER2 expression. Methods: Thirty-one patients with primary breast cancer were enrolled and divided into three cohorts (injected with 500, 1000, or 1500 µg ZHER2:41071) comprising at least five patients with high (positive) HER2 tumor expression (IHC score 3+ or 2+ and ISH positive) and five patients with low (IHC score 2+ or 1+ and ISH negative) or absent HER2 tumor expression. Patients were injected with 451 ± 71 MBq 99mTc-ZHER2:4107. Planar scintigraphy was performed after 2, 4, 6 and 24 h, and SPECT/CT imaging followed planar imaging 2, 4 and 6 h after injection. Results: Injections of 99mTc-ZHER2:41071 were well tolerated and not associated with adverse events. Normal organs with the highest accumulation were the kidney and liver. The effective dose was 0.019 ± 0.004 mSv/MBq. Injection of 1000 µg provided the best standard discrimination between HER2-positive and HER2-low or HER2-negative tumors 2 h after injection (SUVmax 16.9 ± 7.6 vs. 3.6 ± 1.4, p < 0.005). The 99mTc-ZHER2:41071 uptake in HER2-positive lymph node metastases (SUVmax 6.9 ± 2.4, n = 5) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that in HER2-low/negative lymph nodes (SUVmax 3.5 ± 1.2, n = 4). 99mTc-ZHER2:41071 visualized hepatic metastases in a patient with liver involvement. Conclusions: Injections of 99mTc-ZHER2:41071 appear safe and exhibit favorable dosimetry. The protein dose of 1000 µg provides the best discrimination between HER2-positive and HER2-low/negative expression of HER2 according to the definition used for current HER2-targeting drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga Bragina
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Chernov
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Mariia Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anstasiya Rybina
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Roman Zelchan
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Eugeniy Garbukov
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
- Affibody AB, Solna, Sweden
| | | | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jens Sörensen
- Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Y. Frejd
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
- Affibody AB, Solna, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Alhuseinalkhudhur A, Lindman H, Liss P, Sundin T, Frejd FY, Hartman J, Iyer V, Feldwisch J, Lubberink M, Rönnlund C, Tolmachev V, Velikyan I, Sörensen J. Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Targeting [ 68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT Predicts Early Metabolic Response in Metastatic Breast Cancer. J Nucl Med 2023; 64:1364-1370. [PMID: 37442602 PMCID: PMC10478820 DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.122.265364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Imaging using the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-binding tracer 68Ga-labeled ZHER2:2891-Cys-MMA-DOTA ([68Ga]Ga-ABY-025) was shown to reflect HER2 status determined by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). This single-center open-label phase II study investigated how [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 uptake corresponds to biopsy results and early treatment response in both primary breast cancer (PBC) planned for neoadjuvant chemotherapy and MBC. Methods: Forty patients with known positive HER2 status were included: 19 with PBC and 21 with MBC (median, 3 previous treatments). [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT, [18F]F-FDG PET/CT, and core-needle biopsies from targeted lesions were performed at baseline. [18F]F-FDG PET/CT was repeated after 2 cycles of therapy to calculate the directional change in tumor lesion glycolysis (Δ-TLG). The largest lesions (up to 5) were evaluated in all 3 scans per patient. SUVs from [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT were compared with the biopsied HER2 status and Δ-TLG by receiver operating characteristic analyses. Results: Trial biopsies were HER2-positive in 31 patients, HER2-negative in 6 patients, and borderline HER2-positive in 3 patients. The [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT cutoff SUVmax of 6.0 predicted a Δ-TLG lower than -25% with 86% sensitivity and 67% specificity in soft-tissue lesions (area under the curve, 0.74 [95% CI, 0.67-0.82]; P = 0.01). Compared with the HER2 status, this cutoff resulted in clinically relevant discordant findings in 12 of 40 patients. Metabolic response (Δ-TLG) was more pronounced in PBC (-71% [95% CI, -58% to -83%]; P < 0.0001) than in MBC (-27% [95% CI, -16% to -38%]; P < 0.0001), but [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 SUVmax was similar in both with a mean SUVmax of 9.8 (95% CI, 6.3-13.3) and 13.9 (95% CI, 10.5-17.2), respectively (P = 0.10). In multivariate analysis, global Δ-TLG was positively associated with the number of previous treatments (P = 0.0004) and negatively associated with [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT SUVmax (P = 0.018) but not with HER2 status (P = 0.09). Conclusion: [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT predicted early metabolic response to HER2-targeted therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer. Metabolic response was attenuated in recurrent disease. [68Ga]Ga-ABY-025 PET/CT appears to provide an estimate of the HER2 expression required to induce tumor metabolic remission by targeted therapies and might be useful as an adjunct diagnostic tool.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ali Alhuseinalkhudhur
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Henrik Lindman
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Per Liss
- Division of Radiology, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tora Sundin
- Clinical Research and Development Unit, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Y Frejd
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Affibody AB, Solna, Sweden
| | - Johan Hartman
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; and
| | - Victor Iyer
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Mark Lubberink
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Medical Physics, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Caroline Rönnlund
- Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; and
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Irina Velikyan
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jens Sörensen
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and PET, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Oroujeni M, Bezverkhniaia EA, Xu T, Liu Y, Plotnikov EV, Klint S, Ryer E, Karlberg I, Orlova A, Frejd FY, Tolmachev V. Evaluation of affinity matured Affibody molecules for imaging of the immune checkpoint protein B7-H3. Nucl Med Biol 2023; 124-125:108384. [PMID: 37699299 DOI: 10.1016/j.nucmedbio.2023.108384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023]
Abstract
B7-H3 (CD276), an immune checkpoint protein, is a promising molecular target for immune therapy of malignant tumours. Sufficient B7-H3 expression level is a precondition for successful therapy. Radionuclide molecular imaging is a powerful technique for visualization of expression levels of molecular targets in vivo. Use of small radiolabelled targeting proteins would enable high-contrast radionuclide imaging of molecular targets if adequate binding affinity and specificity of an imaging probe could be provided. Affibody molecules, small engineered affinity proteins based on a non-immunoglobulin scaffold, have demonstrated an appreciable potential in radionuclide imaging. Proof-of principle of radionuclide visualization of expression levels of B7-H3 in vivo was demonstrated using the [99mTc]Tc-AC12-GGGC Affibody molecule. We performed an affinity maturation of AC12, enabling selection of clones with higher affinity. Three most promising clones were expressed with a -GGGC (triglycine-cysteine) chelating sequence at the C-terminus and labelled with technetium-99m (99mTc). 99mTc-labelled conjugates bound to B7-H3-expressing cells specifically in vitro and in vivo. Biodistribution in mice bearing B7-H3-expressing SKOV-3 xenografts demonstrated improved imaging properties of the new conjugates compared with the parental variant [99mTc]Tc-AC12-GGGC. [99mTc]Tc-SYNT-179 provided the strongest improvement of tumour-to-organ ratios. Thus, affinity maturation of B7-H3 Affibody molecules could improve biodistribution and targeting properties for imaging of B7-H3-expressing tumours.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden.
| | - Ekaterina A Bezverkhniaia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; Scientific and Research Laboratory of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Evgenii V Plotnikov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | | | - Eva Ryer
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden.
| | | | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Fredrik Y Frejd
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden.
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Hasnowo LA, Larkina MS, Plotnikov E, Bodenko V, Yuldasheva F, Stasyuk E, Petrov SA, Zyk NY, Machulkin AE, Vorozhtsov NI, Beloglazkina EK, Nenajdenko VG, Tolmachev V, Orlova A, Majouga AG, Yusubov MS. Synthesis, 123I-Radiolabeling Optimization, and Initial Preclinical Evaluation of Novel Urea-Based PSMA Inhibitors with a Tributylstannyl Prosthetic Group in Their Structures. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:12206. [PMID: 37569582 PMCID: PMC10418939 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241512206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has been identified as a target for the development of theranostic agents. In our current work, we describe the design and synthesis of novel N-[N-[(S)-1,3-dicarboxypropyl]carbamoyl]-(S)-L-lysine (DCL) urea-based PSMA inhibitors with a chlorine-substituted aromatic fragment at the lysine ε-nitrogen atom, a dipeptide including two phenylalanine residues in the L-configuration as the peptide fragment of the linker, and 3- or 4-(tributylstannyl)benzoic acid as a prosthetic group in their structures for radiolabeling. The standard compounds [127I]PSMA-m-IB and [127I]PSMA-p-IB for comparative and characterization studies were first synthesized using two alternative synthetic approaches. An important advantage of the alternative synthetic approach, in which the prosthetic group (NHS-activated esters of compounds) is first conjugated with the polypeptide sequence followed by replacement of the Sn(Bu)3 group with radioiodine, is that the radionuclide is introduced in the final step of synthesis, thereby minimizing operating time with iodine-123 during the radiolabeling process. The obtained DCL urea-based PSMA inhibitors were radiolabeled with iodine-123. The radiolabeling optimization results showed that the radiochemical yield of [123I]PSMA-p-IB was higher than that of [123I]PSMA-m-IB, which were 74.9 ± 1.0% and 49.4 ± 1.2%, respectively. The radiochemical purity of [123I]PSMA-p-IB after purification was greater than 99.50%. The initial preclinical evaluation of [123I]PSMA-p-IB demonstrated a considerable affinity and specific binding to PC-3 PIP (PSMA-expressing cells) in vitro. The in vivo biodistribution of this new radioligand [123I]PSMA-p-IB showed less accumulation than [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in several normal organs (liver, kidney, and bone). These results warrant further preclinical development, including toxicology evaluation and experiments in tumor-bearing mice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lutfi A. Hasnowo
- School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia or (L.A.H.); (E.S.)
- Polytechnic Institute of Nuclear Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
| | - Maria S. Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; (M.S.L.); (E.P.); (V.B.); (F.Y.); (M.S.Y.)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Evgenii Plotnikov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; (M.S.L.); (E.P.); (V.B.); (F.Y.); (M.S.Y.)
- Mental Health Reseach Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634014, Russia
| | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; (M.S.L.); (E.P.); (V.B.); (F.Y.); (M.S.Y.)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Feruza Yuldasheva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; (M.S.L.); (E.P.); (V.B.); (F.Y.); (M.S.Y.)
| | - Elena Stasyuk
- School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia or (L.A.H.); (E.S.)
| | - Stanislav A. Petrov
- Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1–3, Moscow 119991, Russia; (S.A.P.); (N.Y.Z.); (A.E.M.); (N.I.V.); (V.G.N.)
| | - Nikolai Y. Zyk
- Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1–3, Moscow 119991, Russia; (S.A.P.); (N.Y.Z.); (A.E.M.); (N.I.V.); (V.G.N.)
| | - Aleksei E. Machulkin
- Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1–3, Moscow 119991, Russia; (S.A.P.); (N.Y.Z.); (A.E.M.); (N.I.V.); (V.G.N.)
| | - Nikolai I. Vorozhtsov
- Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1–3, Moscow 119991, Russia; (S.A.P.); (N.Y.Z.); (A.E.M.); (N.I.V.); (V.G.N.)
| | - Elena K. Beloglazkina
- Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1–3, Moscow 119991, Russia; (S.A.P.); (N.Y.Z.); (A.E.M.); (N.I.V.); (V.G.N.)
| | - Valentine G. Nenajdenko
- Department of Chemistry, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University Leninskie Gory, 1–3, Moscow 119991, Russia; (S.A.P.); (N.Y.Z.); (A.E.M.); (N.I.V.); (V.G.N.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Alexander G. Majouga
- Faculty of Chemistry, Dmitry Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Miusskaya sq. 9, Moscow 125047, Russia;
| | - Mekhman S. Yusubov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia; (M.S.L.); (E.P.); (V.B.); (F.Y.); (M.S.Y.)
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Abouzayed A, Kanellopoulos P, Gorislav A, Tolmachev V, Maina T, Nock BA, Orlova A. Preclinical Characterization of a Stabilized Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Receptor Antagonist for Targeted Cancer Theranostics. Biomolecules 2023; 13:1134. [PMID: 37509170 PMCID: PMC10377574 DOI: 10.3390/biom13071134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Radiolabeled gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) antagonists have shown great promise for the theranostics of prostate cancer; however, their suboptimal metabolic stability leaves room for improvements. It was recently shown that the replacement of Gly11 with Sar11 in the peptidic [D-Phe6,Leu13-NHEt,des-Met14]BBN(6-14) chain stabilized the [99mTc]Tc-DB15 radiotracer against neprilysin (NEP). We herein present DOTAGA-PEG2-(Sar11)RM26 (AU-RM26-M1), after Gly11 to Sar11-replacement. The impact of this replacement on the metabolic stability and overall biological performance of [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1 was studied using a head-to-head comparison with the unmodified reference [111In]In-DOTAGA-PEG2-RM26. In vitro, the cell uptake of [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1 could be significantly reduced in the presence of a high-excess GRPR-blocker that demonstrated its specificity. The cell uptake of both radiolabeled GRPR antagonists increased with time and was superior for [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1. The dissociation constant reflected strong affinities for GRPR (500 pM for [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1). [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1 showed significantly higher stability in peripheral mice blood at 5 min pi (88 ± 8% intact) than unmodified [111In]In-DOTAGA-PEG2-RM26 (69 ± 2% intact; p < 0.0001). The administration of a NEP inhibitor had no significant impact on the Sar11-compound (91 ± 2% intact; p > 0.05). In vivo, [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1 showed high and GRPR-mediated uptake in the PC-3 tumors (7.0 ± 0.7%IA/g vs. 0.9 ± 0.6%IA/g in blocked mice) and pancreas (2.2 ± 0.6%IA/g vs. 0.3 ± 0.2%IA/g in blocked mice) at 1 h pi, with rapid clearance from healthy tissues. The tumor uptake of [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1 was higher than for [111In]In-DOTAGA-PEG2-RM26 (at 4 h pi, 5.7 ± 1.8%IA/g vs. 3 ± 1%IA/g), concordant with its higher stability. The implanted PC-3 tumors were visualized with high contrast in mice using [111In]In-AU-RM26-M1 SPECT/CT. The Gly11 to Sar11-substitution stabilized [111In]In-DOTAGA-PEG2-(Sar11)RM26 against NEP without negatively affecting other important biological features. These results support the further evaluation of AU-RM26-M1 for prostate cancer theranostics after labeling with clinically relevant radionuclides.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (P.K.); (A.G.)
| | - Panagiotis Kanellopoulos
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (P.K.); (A.G.)
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (B.A.N.)
| | - Alisa Gorislav
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (P.K.); (A.G.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Theodosia Maina
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (B.A.N.)
| | - Berthold A. Nock
- Molecular Radiopharmacy, INRaSTES, NCSR “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece; (T.M.); (B.A.N.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; (A.A.); (P.K.); (A.G.)
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Bragina O, Chernov V, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Hober S, Deyev S, Sörensen J, Tolmachev V. Direct Intra-Patient Comparison of Scaffold Protein-Based Tracers, [ 99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 and [ 99mTc]Tc-(HE) 3-G3, for Imaging of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:3149. [PMID: 37370758 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15123149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous Phase I clinical evaluations of the radiolabelled scaffold proteins [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 and DARPin [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 in breast cancer patients have demonstrated their safety and indicated their capability to discriminate between HER2-positive and HER2-negative tumours. The objective of this study was to compare the imaging of HER2-positive tumours in the same patients using [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 and [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3. Eleven treatment-naïve female patients (26-65 years) with HER2-positive primary and metastatic breast cancer were included in the study. Each patient was intravenously injected with [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6, followed by an [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 injection 3-4 days later and chest SPECT/CT was performed. All primary tumours were clearly visualized using both tracers. The uptake of [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 in primary tumours (SUVmax = 4.7 ± 2.1) was significantly higher (p < 0.005) than the uptake of [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 (SUVmax = 3.5 ± 1.7). There was no significant difference in primary tumour-to-contralateral site values for [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 (15.2 ± 7.4) and [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 (19.6 ± 12.4). All known lymph node metastases were visualized using both tracers. The uptake of [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 in all extrahepatic soft tissue lesions was significantly (p < 0.0004) higher than the uptake of [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3. In conclusion, [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 and [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 are suitable for the visualization of HER2-positive breast cancer. At the selected time points, [99mTc]Tc-ADAPT6 has a significantly higher uptake in soft tissue lesions, which might be an advantage for the visualization of small metastases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga Bragina
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Chernov
- Department of Nuclear Therapy and Diagnostic, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sergey Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Jens Sörensen
- Department of Surgical Sciences, Nuclear Medicine & PET, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - 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
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Abouzayed A, Borin J, Lundmark F, Rybina A, Hober S, Zelchan R, Tolmachev V, Chernov V, Orlova A. The GRPR Antagonist [ 99mTc]Tc-maSSS-PEG 2-RM26 towards Phase I Clinical Trial: Kit Preparation, Characterization and Toxicity. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:diagnostics13091611. [PMID: 37175001 PMCID: PMC10178091 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13091611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPRs) are overexpressed in the majority of primary prostate tumors and in prostatic lymph node and bone metastases. Several GRPR antagonists were developed for SPECT and PET imaging of prostate cancer. We previously reported a preclinical evaluation of the GRPR antagonist [99mTc]Tc-maSSS-PEG2-RM26 (based on [D-Phe6, Sta13, Leu14-NH2]BBN(6-14)) which bound to GRPR with high affinity and had a favorable biodistribution profile in tumor-bearing animal models. In this study, we aimed to prepare and test kits for prospective use in an early-phase clinical study. The kits were prepared to allow for a one-pot single-step radiolabeling with technetium-99m pertechnetate. The kit vials were tested for sterility and labeling efficacy. The radiolabeled by using the kit GRPR antagonist was evaluated in vitro for binding specificity to GRPR on PC-3 cells (GRPR-positive). In vivo, the toxicity of the kit constituents was evaluated in rats. The labeling efficacy of the kits stored at 4 °C was monitored for 18 months. The biological properties of [99mTc]Tc-maSSS-PEG2-RM26, which were obtained after this period, were examined both in vitro and in vivo. The one-pot (gluconic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, stannous chloride, and maSSS-PEG2-RM26) single-step radiolabeling with technetium-99m was successful with high radiochemical yields (>97%) and high molar activities (16-24 MBq/nmol). The radiolabeled peptide maintained its binding properties to GRPR. The kit constituents were sterile and non-toxic when tested in living subjects. In conclusion, the prepared kit is considered safe in animal models and can be further evaluated for use in clinics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jesper Borin
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Fanny Lundmark
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anastasiya Rybina
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Roman Zelchan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Chernov
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Liu Y, Xu T, Vorobyeva A, Loftenius A, Bodenko V, Orlova A, Frejd FY, Tolmachev V. Radionuclide Therapy of HER2-Expressing Xenografts Using [ 177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 Affibody Molecule Alone and in Combination with Trastuzumab. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15092409. [PMID: 37173878 PMCID: PMC10177614 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15092409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
ABY-027 is a scaffold-protein-based cancer-targeting agent. ABY-027 includes the second-generation Affibody molecule ZHER2:2891, which binds to human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2). An engineered albumin-binding domain is fused to ZHER2:2891 to reduce renal uptake and increase bioavailability. The agent can be site-specifically labeled with a beta-emitting radionuclide 177Lu using a DOTA chelator. The goals of this study were to test the hypotheses that a targeted radionuclide therapy using [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 could extend the survival of mice with HER2-expressing human xenografts and that co-treatment with [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 and the HER2-targeting antibody trastuzumab could enhance this effect. Balb/C nu/nu mice bearing HER2-expressing SKOV-3 xenografts were used as in vivo models. A pre-injection of trastuzumab did not reduce the uptake of [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 in tumors. Mice were treated with [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 or trastuzumab as monotherapies and a combination of these therapies. Mice treated with vehicle or unlabeled ABY-027 were used as controls. Targeted monotherapy using [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 improved the survival of mice and was more efficient than trastuzumab monotherapy. A combination of therapies utilizing [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 and trastuzumab improved the treatment outcome in comparison with monotherapies using these agents. In conclusion, [177Lu]Lu-ABY-027 alone or in combination with trastuzumab could be a new potential agent for the treatment of HER2-expressing tumors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Fredrik Y Frejd
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Leitao CD, Borras AM, Xu T, Oroujeni M, Liu Y, Westerberg C, Clinton J, Tolmachev V, Orlova A, Ståhl S, Vorobyeva A, Löfblom J. Conditionally activated affibody-based prodrug targeting EGFR demonstrates improved tumour selectivity. J Control Release 2023; 357:185-195. [PMID: 36990160 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.03.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Safety and efficacy of cancer-targeting treatments can be improved by conditional activation enabled by the distinct milieu of the tumour microenvironment. Proteases are intricately involved in tumourigenesis and commonly dysregulated with elevated expression and activity. Design of prodrug molecules with protease-dependent activation has the potential to increase tumour-selective targeting while decreasing exposure to healthy tissues, thus improving the safety profile for patients. Higher selectivity could also allow for administration of higher doses or use of more aggressive treatment options, leading to higher therapeutic efficacy. We have previously developed an affibody-based prodrug with conditional targeting of EGFR conferred by an anti-idiotypic affibody masking domain (ZB05). We could show that binding to endogenous EGFR on cancer cells in vitro was restored following proteolytic removal of ZB05. In this study we evaluate a novel affibody-based prodrug design, which incorporates a protease substrate sequence recognized by cancer-associated proteases and demonstrate the potential of this approach for selective tumour-targeting and shielded uptake in healthy tissues in vivo using tumour-bearing mice. This may widen the therapeutic index of cytotoxic EGFR-targeted therapeutics by decreasing side effects, improving selectivity of drug delivery, and enabling the use of more potent cytotoxic drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charles Dahlsson Leitao
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Mestre Borras
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Cornelia Westerberg
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jacob Clinton
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stefan Ståhl
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - John Löfblom
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Xu T, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Rinne SS, Zhang H, Vorontsova O, Orlova A, Deyev SM, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A. Feasibility of Co-Targeting HER3 and EpCAM Using Seribantumab and DARPin-Toxin Fusion in a Pancreatic Cancer Xenograft Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032838. [PMID: 36769161 PMCID: PMC9917732 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies. A combination of targeted therapies could increase the therapeutic efficacy in tumors with heterogeneous target expression. Overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor type 3 (HER3) and the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) in up to 40% and 30% of PCs, respectively, is associated with poor prognosis and highlights the relevance of these targets. Designed ankyrin repeat protein (DARPin) Ec1 fused with the low immunogenic bacterial toxin LoPE provides specific and potent cytotoxicity against EpCAM-expressing cancer cells. Here, we investigated whether the co-targeting of HER3 using the monoclonal antibody seribantumab (MM-121) and of EpCAM using Ec1-LoPE would improve the therapeutic efficacy in comparison to the individual agents. Radiolabeled 99mTc(CO)3-Ec1-LoPE showed specific binding with rapid internalization in EpCAM-expressing PC cells. MM-121 did not interfere with the binding of Ec1-LoPE to EpCAM. Evaluation of cytotoxicity indicated synergism between Ec1-LoPE and MM-121 in vitro. An experimental therapy study using Ec1-LoPE and MM-121 in mice bearing EpCAM- and HER3-expressing BxPC3 xenografts demonstrated the feasibility of the therapy. Further development of the co-targeting approach using HER3 and EpCAM could therefore be justified.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hongchao Zhang
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sergey M. Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
- Bio-Nanophotonic Laboratory, Institute of Engineering Physics for Biomedicine (PhysBio), National Research Nuclear University ‘MEPhI’, Moscow 115409, Russia
- Center of Biomedical Engineering, Sechenov University, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk 634050, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Lundmark F, Abouzayed A, Rinne SS, Timofeev V, Sipkina N, Naan M, Kirichenko A, Vasyutina M, Ryzhkova D, Tolmachev V, Rosenström U, Orlova A. Preclinical Characterisation of PSMA/GRPR-Targeting Heterodimer [ 68Ga]Ga-BQ7812 for PET Diagnostic Imaging of Prostate Cancer: A Step towards Clinical Translation. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:442. [PMID: 36672390 PMCID: PMC9856709 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15020442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of radioligands targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) has shown promising results for the imaging and therapy of prostate cancer. However, studies have shown that tumors and metastases can express such targets heterogeneously. To overcome this issue and to improve protein binding, radioligands with the ability to bind both PSMA and GRPR have been developed. Herein, we present the preclinical characterization of [68Ga]Ga-BQ7812; a PSMA/GRPR-targeting radioligand for the diagnostic PET imaging of prostate cancer. This study aimed to evaluate [68Ga]Ga-BQ7812 to promote the translation of such imaging probes into the clinic. [68Ga]Ga-BQ7812 demonstrated rapid and specific binding to both targets in a PSMA/GRPR-expressing PC3-pip cell line. Results from the biodistribution study in PC3-pip xenografted mice showed specific binding to both targets, with the highest activity uptake at 1 h pi in tumor (PSMA+/GRPR+, 10.4 ± 1.0% IA/g), kidneys (PSMA+, 45 ± 16% IA/g), and pancreas (GRPR+, 5.6 ± 0.7% IA/g). At 3h pi, increased tumour-to-organ ratios could be seen due to higher retention in the tumor compared with other PSMA or GRPR-expressing organs. These results, together with low toxicity and an acceptable estimated dosimetry profile (total effective dose = 0.0083 mSv/MBq), support the clinical translation of [68Ga]Ga-BQ7812 and represent a step towards its first clinical trial.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Lundmark
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vasiliy Timofeev
- Personalized Medicine Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 2 Akkuratova Str., 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Nadezhda Sipkina
- Personalized Medicine Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 2 Akkuratova Str., 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Maria Naan
- Personalized Medicine Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 2 Akkuratova Str., 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Anastasia Kirichenko
- Preclinical and Translational Research Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 2 Akkuratova Str., 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Maria Vasyutina
- Preclinical and Translational Research Centre, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 2 Akkuratova Str., 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Daria Ryzhkova
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Technology with Clinic, Almazov National Medical Research Centre, 2 Akkuratova Str., 197341 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ulrika Rosenström
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Tolmachev V, Bodenko V, Orlova A, Schulga A, Deyev S, Vorobyeva A. Visualization of epithelial cell adhesion molecule‑expressing renal cell carcinoma xenografts using designed ankyrin repeat protein Ec1 labelled with 99mTc and 125I. Oncol Lett 2022; 25:12. [DOI: 10.3892/ol.2022.13598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Sergey Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Larkina M, Plotnikov E, Bezverkhniaia E, Shabanova Y, Tretyakova M, Yuldasheva F, Zelchan R, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Vorobyeva A, Garousi J, Gräslund T, Belousov M, Tolmachev V, Deyev S. Comparative Preclinical Evaluation of Peptide-Based Chelators for the Labeling of DARPin G3 with 99mTc for Radionuclide Imaging of HER2 Expression in Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:13443. [PMID: 36362226 PMCID: PMC9653920 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Non-invasive radionuclide imaging of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) expression in breast, gastroesophageal, and ovarian cancers may stratify patients for treatment using HER2-targeted therapeutics. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) are a promising type of targeting probe for radionuclide imaging. In clinical studies, the DARPin [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 labeled using a peptide-based chelator His-Glu-His-Glu-His-Glu ((HE)3), provided clear imaging of HER2 expressing breast cancer 2-4 h after injection. The goal of this study was to evaluate if the use of cysteine-containing peptide-based chelators Glu-Glu-Glu-Cys (E3C), Gly-Gly-Gly-Cys (G3C), and Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser-Cys connected via a (Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser)3-linker (designated as G3-(G3S)3C) would further improve the contrast of imaging using 99mTc-labeled derivatives of G3. The labeling of the new variants of G3 provided a radiochemical yield of over 95%. Labeled G3 variants bound specifically to human HER2-expressing cancer cell lines with affinities in the range of 1.9-5 nM. Biodistribution of [99mTc]Tc-G3-G3C, [99mTc]Tc-G3-(G3S)3C, and [99mTc]Tc-G3-E3C in mice was compared with the biodistribution of [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3. It was found that the novel variants provide specific accumulation in HER2-expressing human xenografts and enable discrimination between tumors with high and low HER2 expression. However, [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3 provided better contrast between tumors and the most frequent metastatic sites of HER2-expressing cancers and is therefore more suitable for clinical applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Evgenii Plotnikov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Ekaterina Bezverkhniaia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Yulia Shabanova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Maria Tretyakova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Feruza Yuldasheva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Roman Zelchan
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Javad Garousi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 11417 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 11417 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikhail Belousov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical 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, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sergey Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Abouzayed A, Gorislav A, Kanellopoulos P, Tolmachev V, Maina-Nock T, Nock BA, Orlova A. Development of a stabilized GRPR antagonist for targeted cancer theranostics. Nucl Med Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(22)02142-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
26
|
Orlova A, Abouzayed A, Rinne S, Lushnikova N, Usynin E, Doroshenko A, Borin J, Sorensen J, Tolmachev V, Chernov V, Rybina A. Clinical translation of the GRPR antagonist [99mTc]Tc-maSSS-PEG2-RM26 for targeting prostate tumors. Nucl Med Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(22)02208-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
27
|
Liu Y, Vorobyeva A, Orlova A, Konijnenberg M, Xu T, Bragina O, Loftenius A, Rosander E, Frejd F, Tolmachev V. Radionuclide therapy with the second-generation Affibody molecule [188Re]Re-Z41071 improves survival in mice bearing human HER2-expressing xenografts. Nucl Med Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(22)02147-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
|
28
|
Garousi J, Xu T, Liu Y, Vorontsova O, Hober S, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Gräslund T, Vorobyeva A. Experimental HER2-Targeted Therapy Using ADAPT6-ABD-mcDM1 in Mice Bearing SKOV3 Ovarian Cancer Xenografts: Efficacy and Selection of Companion Imaging Counterpart. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14081612. [PMID: 36015242 PMCID: PMC9415843 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14081612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in breast and gastric cancer is exploited for targeted therapy using monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates. Small engineered scaffold proteins, such as the albumin binding domain (ABD) derived affinity proteins (ADAPTs), are a promising new format of targeting probes for development of drug conjugates with well-defined structure and tunable pharmacokinetics. Radiolabeled ADAPT6 has shown excellent tumor-targeting properties in clinical trials. Recently, we developed a drug conjugate based on the HER2-targeting ADAPT6 fused to an albumin binding domain (ABD) for increased bioavailability and conjugated to DM1 for cytotoxic action, designated as ADAPT6-ABD-mcDM1. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of this conjugate in mice bearing HER2-expressing SKOV3 ovarian cancer xenografts. A secondary aim was to evaluate several formats of imaging probes for visualization of HER2 expression in tumors. Administration of ADAPT6-ABD-mcDM1 provided a significant delay of tumor growth and increased the median survival of the mice, in comparison with both a non-targeting homologous construct (ADAPTNeg-ABD-mcDM1) and the vehicle-treated groups, without inducing toxicity to liver or kidneys. Moreover, the evaluation of imaging probes showed that small scaffold proteins, such as 99mTc(CO)3-ADAPT6 or the affibody molecule 99mTc-ZHER2:41071, are well suited as diagnostic companions for potential stratification of patients for ADAPT6-ABD-mcDM1–based therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Javad Garousi
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (S.H.)
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (O.V.); (A.V.)
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (O.V.); (A.V.)
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (O.V.); (A.V.)
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (S.H.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (O.V.); (A.V.)
- Correspondence: (V.T.); (T.G.); Tel.: +46-70-425-07-82 (V.T.); +46-(0)8-790-96-27 (T.G.)
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (S.H.)
- Correspondence: (V.T.); (T.G.); Tel.: +46-70-425-07-82 (V.T.); +46-(0)8-790-96-27 (T.G.)
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (O.V.); (A.V.)
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Liu Y, Yu S, Xu T, Bodenko V, Orlova A, Oroujeni M, Rinne SS, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A, Gräslund T. Preclinical Evaluation of a New Format of 68Ga- and 111In-Labeled Affibody Molecule Z IGF-1R:4551 for the Visualization of IGF-1R Expression in Malignant Tumors Using PET and SPECT. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14071475. [PMID: 35890370 PMCID: PMC9320461 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14071475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) is a molecular target for several monoclonal antibodies undergoing clinical evaluation as anticancer therapeutics. The non-invasive detection of IGF-1R expression in tumors might enable stratification of patients for specific treatment and improve the outcome of both clinical trials and routine treatment. The affibody molecule ZIGF-1R:4551 binds specifically to IGF-1R with subnanomolar affinity. The goal of this study was to evaluate the 68Ga and 111In-labeled affibody construct NODAGA-(HE)3-ZIGF-1R:4551 for the imaging of IGF-1R expression, using PET and SPECT. The labeling was efficient and provided stable coupling of both radionuclides. The two imaging probes, [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-(HE)3-ZIGF-1R:4551 and [111In]In-NODAGA-(HE)3-ZIGF-1R:4551, demonstrated specific binding to IGF-1R-expressing human cancer cell lines in vitro and to IGF-1R-expressing xenografts in mice. Preclinical PET and SPECT/CT imaging demonstrated visualization of IGF-1R-expressing xenografts already one hour after injection. The tumor-to-blood ratios at 3 h after injection were 7.8 ± 0.2 and 8.0 ± 0.6 for [68Ga]Ga-NODAGA-(HE)3-ZIGF-1R:4551 and [111In]In-NODAGA-(HE)3-ZIGF-1R:4551, respectively. In conclusion, a molecular design of the ZIGF-1R:4551 affibody molecule, including placement of a (HE)3-tag on the N-terminus and site-specific coupling of a NODAGA chelator on the C-terminus, provides a tracer with improved imaging properties for visualization of IGF-1R in malignant tumors, using PET and SPECT.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden; (Y.L.); (T.X.); (M.O.); (A.V.)
| | - Shengze Yu
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden; (Y.L.); (T.X.); (M.O.); (A.V.)
| | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.B.); (A.O.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.B.); (A.O.)
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden; (Y.L.); (T.X.); (M.O.); (A.V.)
- Affibody AB, 17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden; (Y.L.); (T.X.); (M.O.); (A.V.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.B.); (A.O.)
- Correspondence: (V.T.); (T.G.); Tel.: +46-704-250782 (V.T.); +46-8790-9627 (T.G.)
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden; (Y.L.); (T.X.); (M.O.); (A.V.)
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10044 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Correspondence: (V.T.); (T.G.); Tel.: +46-704-250782 (V.T.); +46-8790-9627 (T.G.)
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Oroujeni M, Tano H, Vorobyeva A, Liu Y, Vorontsova O, Xu T, Westerlund K, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Karlström AE. Affibody-Mediated PNA-Based Pretargeted Cotreatment Improves Survival of Trastuzumab-Treated Mice Bearing HER2-Expressing Xenografts. J Nucl Med 2022; 63:1046-1051. [PMID: 34711617 PMCID: PMC9258572 DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.121.262123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Treatment of patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-expressing tumors using the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab increases survival. The Affibody-based peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-mediated pretargeted radionuclide therapy has demonstrated efficacy against HER2-expressing xenografts in mice. Structural studies suggest that Affibody molecules and trastuzumab bind to different epitopes on HER2. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that a combination of PNA-mediated pretargeted radionuclide therapy and trastuzumab treatment of HER2-expressing xenografts can extend survival compared with monotherapies. Methods: Mutual interference of the primary pretargeting probe ZHER2:342-SR-HP1 and trastuzumab in binding to HER2-expressing cell lines was investigated in vitro. Experimental therapy evaluated the survival of mice bearing HER2-expressing SKOV-3 xenografts after treatment with vehicle, trastuzumab only, pretargeting using Affibody-PNA chimera ZHER2:342-SR-HP1 and complementary probe 177Lu-HP2, and combination of trastuzumab and pretargeting. The ethical permit limited the study to 90 d. The animals' weights were monitored during the study. After study termination, samples of liver and kidneys were evaluated by a veterinary pathologist for toxicity signs. Results: The presence of a large molar excess of trastuzumab had no influence on the affinity of ZHER2:342-SR-HP1 binding to HER2-expressing cells in vitro. The affinity of trastuzumab was not affected by a large excess of ZHER2:342-SR-HP1 The median survival of mice treated with trastuzumab (75.5 d) was significantly longer than the survival of mice treated with a vehicle (59.5 d). Median survival of mice treated with pretargeting was not reached by day 90. Six mice of 10 in this group survived, and 2 had complete remission. All mice in the combination treatment group survived, and tumors in 7 mice had disappeared at study termination. There was no significant difference between animal weights in the different treatment groups. No significant pathologic alterations were detected in livers and kidneys of treated animals. Conclusion: Treatment of mice bearing HER2-expressing xenografts with the combination of trastuzumab and Affibody-mediated PNA-based radionuclide pretargeting significantly increased survival compared with monotherapies. Cotreatment was not toxic for normal tissues.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Hanna Tano
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;,Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia; and
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Kristina Westerlund
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia; and,Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;,Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia; and
| | - Amelie Eriksson Karlström
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology, and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Center, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Chernov V, Dudnikova E, Zelchan R, Medvedeva A, Rybina A, Bragina O, Goldberg V, Muravleva A, Sörensen J, Tolmachev V. Phase I Clinical Trial Using [ 99mTc]Tc-1-thio-D-glucose for Diagnosis of Lymphoma Patients. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14061274. [PMID: 35745847 PMCID: PMC9227866 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14061274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Similar to [18F]-FDG, [99mTc]Tc-1-thio-D-glucose ([99mTc]Tc-TG) also binds to GLUT receptors. The aim of this Phase I study was to evaluate the safety, biodistribution and dosimetry of [99mTc]Tc-TG. Twelve lymphoma patients were injected with 729 ± 102 MBq [99mTc]Tc-TG. Whole-body planar imaging was performed in 10 patients at 2, 4, 6 and 24 h after injection. In all 12 patients, SPECT/CT (at 2 h) and SPECT (at 4 and 6 h) imaging was performed. Vital signs and possible side effects were monitored during imaging and up to 7 days after injection. [99mTc]Tc-TG injections were well-tolerated and no side effects or alterations in blood and urine analyses data were observed. The highest absorbed dose was in the kidneys and urinary bladder wall, followed by the adrenals, prostate, bone marrow, lungs, myocardium, ovaries, uterus, liver and gall bladder wall. [99mTc]Tc-TG SPECT/CT revealed foci of high activity uptake in the lymph nodes of all nine patients with known nodal lesions. Extranodal lesions were detected in all nine cases. In one patient, a lesion in the humerus head, which was not detected by CT, was visualized using [99mTc]Tc-TG. Potentially, [99mTc]Tc-TG can be considered as an additional diagnostic method for imaging GLUT receptors in lymphoma patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Chernov
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.C.); (R.Z.); (A.M.); (A.R.); (O.B.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Ekaterina Dudnikova
- Department of Cancer Chemotherapy, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (E.D.); (V.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Roman Zelchan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.C.); (R.Z.); (A.M.); (A.R.); (O.B.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Medvedeva
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.C.); (R.Z.); (A.M.); (A.R.); (O.B.)
| | - Anstasiya Rybina
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.C.); (R.Z.); (A.M.); (A.R.); (O.B.)
| | - Olga Bragina
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (V.C.); (R.Z.); (A.M.); (A.R.); (O.B.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Viktor Goldberg
- Department of Cancer Chemotherapy, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (E.D.); (V.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Albina Muravleva
- Department of Cancer Chemotherapy, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (E.D.); (V.G.); (A.M.)
| | - Jens Sörensen
- Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - 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, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-704-250782
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Liu Y, Sorensen JB, Brun NC, Frejd FY, Tolmachev V. Theranostic pairing: ABY-025/251 targeting HER2 with 68Ga and 188Re—Minimized radioligands using Affibody peptide scaffold technology. J Clin Oncol 2022. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2022.40.16_suppl.3093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
3093 Background: HER2 expressing tumors such as subsets of metastatic breast cancer and gastro-esophageal tumors can be targeted using specific antibodies or antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs). However, some tumors remain refractory to treatment. External radiation therapy is unsuited to advanced metastatic disease. Targeted molecular radiation therapy has proven useful in other tumors such as neuroendocrine tumors or prostate cancer using 177Lu. 188Re is a beta emitting isotope that when chelated to the ABY-251 Affibody molecule has the potential to precisely target HER2 expressing tumors locally. The ABY-251 Affibody molecule is a very small, structured protein scaffold with a molecular weight of only 7 kDa targeting HER2 with high affinity (KD = 100pM). ABY-251 can be manufactured by chemical synthesis. A diagnostic analog molecule ABY-025 was also developed with chelation to 68Ga ideal for PET visualization. Methods: A pre-clinical study in mice was conducted to investigate tumor/tissue uptake, followed by a clinical diagnostic study for visualization in HER+ patients with metastatic breast cancer, to be followed by a theranostic study in humans. Results: Pre-clinical Study: A preclinical study in mice has previously demonstrated high contrast uptake in HER2 tumor tissue using the diagnostic analog ABY-025. Off target accumulation was seen in kidney tissue using the diagnostic ABY-025, which in the ABY-251 therapeutic molecule has been reduced by further engineering of the molecule. This molecule has now been proven to increase survival in mice bearing HER2+ tumors. Median survival in the treated animals was 68 days as compared to 29 and 27.5 days in animals treated with vehicle and non-labelled peptide respectively. Clinical diagnostic study ph1/2: ABY-025 was studied in HER2+ patients with metastatic breast cancer. In a study of 16 women with refractory metastatic breast cancer (>2 prior lines of therapy, 12 IHC positive and 4 IHC negative) 9 out of 10 patients showed high HER2 expression levels as measured with ABY-025 PET despite ongoing treatment with HER2 targeted therapy. Persistent high 68Ga-ABY-025 tumor uptake in patients despite treatment with standard HER2-targeted therapies is a sign of therapeutic drug resistance. These patients would be eligible for treatment with the therapeutic analog ABY-251 using 188Re generated beta radiation for tumor eradication. Clinical therapeutic study (planned): ABY-251 is in development to soon enter therapeutic clinical Ph1/2a trials in patients with refractory HER2+ tumors and positive tumor imaging using ABY-025 as a theranostic pair. Conclusions: A radiopharmaceutical theranostic approach diagnosing HER2+ patients with metastatic disease using 68Ga-ABY-025 for targetability and subsequent treatment using 188Re-ABY-251 seems feasible and is currently in clinical trials. Clinical trial information: NCT01858116.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Bragina O, Chernov V, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Garbukov E, Vorobyeva A, Orlova A, Tashireva L, Sörensen J, Zelchan R, Medvedeva A, Deyev S, Tolmachev V. Phase I Trial of 99mTc-(HE) 3-G3, a DARPin-Based Probe for Imaging of HER2 Expression in Breast Cancer. J Nucl Med 2022; 63:528-535. [PMID: 34385343 PMCID: PMC8973295 DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.121.262542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Radionuclide molecular imaging of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) expression may enable a noninvasive discrimination between HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers for stratification of patients for HER2-targeted treatments. DARPin (designed ankyrin repeat proteins) G3 is a small (molecular weight, 14 kDa) scaffold protein with picomolar affinity to HER2. The aim of this first-in-humans study was to evaluate the safety, biodistribution, and dosimetry of 99mTc-(HE)3-G3. Methods: Three cohorts of patients with primary breast cancer (each including at least 4 patients with HER2-negative and 5 patients with HER2-positive tumors) were injected with 1,000, 2,000, or 3,000 μg of 99mTc-(HE)3-G3 (287 ± 170 MBq). Whole-body planar imaging followed by SPECT was performed at 2, 4, 6, and 24 h after injection. Vital signs and possible side effects were monitored during imaging and up to 7 d after injection. Results: All injections were well tolerated. No side effects were observed. The results of blood and urine analyses did not differ before and after studies. 99mTc-(HE)3-G3 cleared rapidly from the blood. The highest uptake was detected in the kidneys and liver followed by the lungs, breasts, and small intestinal content. The hepatic uptake after injection of 2,000 or 3,000 μg was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than the uptake after injection of 1,000 μg. Effective doses did not differ significantly between cohorts (average, 0.011 ± 0.004 mSv/MBq). Tumor-to-contralateral site ratios for HER-positive tumors were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than for HER2-negative at 2 and 4 h after injection. Conclusion: Imaging of HER2 expression using 99mTc-(HE)3-G3 is safe and well tolerated and provides a low absorbed dose burden on patients. This imaging enables discernment of HER2-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer. Phase I study data justify further clinical development of 99mTc-(HE)3-G3.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Olga Bragina
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Chernov
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Eugeniy Garbukov
- Department of General Oncology, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Liubov Tashireva
- Department of General and Molecular Pathology, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Tomsk, Russia; and
| | - Jens Sörensen
- Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Roman Zelchan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Medvedeva
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Sergey Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia;
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Xu T, Liu Y, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Deyev S, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule‑targeting designed ankyrin repeat protein‑toxin fusion Ec1‑LoPE exhibits potent cytotoxic action in prostate cancer cells. Oncol Rep 2022; 47:94. [PMID: 35315504 PMCID: PMC8968790 DOI: 10.3892/or.2022.8305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeted anticancer therapeutics offer the advantage of reducing cytotoxic side effects to normal cells by directing the cytotoxic payload selectively to cancer cells. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) are promising non-immunoglobulin-based scaffold proteins for payload delivery to cancer-associated molecular targets. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is overexpressed in 40–60% of prostate cancers (PCs) and is associated with metastasis, increased risk of PC recurrence and resistance to treatment. Here, we investigated the use of DARPin Ec1 for targeted delivery of Pseudomonas exotoxin A variant (LoPE) with low immunogenicity and low non-specific toxicity to EpCAM-expressing prostate cancer cells. Ec1-LoPE fusion protein was radiolabeled with tricarbonyl technetium-99m and its binding specificity, binding kinetics, cellular processing, internalization and cytotoxicity were evaluated in PC-3 and DU145 cell lines. Ec1-LoPE showed EpCAM-specific binding to EpCAM-expressing prostate cancer cells. Rapid internalization mediated potent cytotoxic effect with picomolar IC50 values in both studied cell lines. Taken together, these data support further evaluation of Ec1-LoPE in a therapeutic setting in a prostate cancer model in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin‑Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Sergey Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Xu T, Zhang J, Oroujeni M, Tretyakova MS, Bodenko V, Belousov MV, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A, Gräslund T. Effect of Inter-Domain Linker Composition on Biodistribution of ABD-Fused Affibody-Drug Conjugates Targeting HER2. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14030522. [PMID: 35335898 PMCID: PMC8949183 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14030522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeted drug conjugates based on Affibody molecules fused to an albumin-binding domain (ABD) for half-life extension have demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in preclinical therapeutic studies. Furthermore, optimization of their molecular design might increase the cytotoxic effect on tumors and minimize systemic toxicity. This study aimed to investigate the influence of length and composition of a linker between the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted affibody molecule (ZHER2:2891) and the ABD domain on functionality and biodistribution of affibody-drug conjugates containing a microtubulin inhibitor mertansin (mcDM1) (AffiDCs). Two conjugates, having a trimeric (S3G)3 linker or a trimeric (G3S)3 linker were produced, radiolabeled with 99mTc(CO)3, and compared side-by-side in vitro and in vivo with the original ZHER2:2891-G4S-ABD-mcDM1 conjugate having a monomeric G4S linker. Both conjugates with longer linkers had a decreased affinity to HER2 and mouse and human serum albumin in vitro, however, no differences in blood retention were observed in NMRI mice up to 24 h post injection. The use of both (S3G)3 and (G3S)3 linkers reduced liver uptake of AffiDCs by approximately 1.2-fold compared with the use of a G4S linker. This finding provides important insights into the molecular design for the development of targeted drug conjugates with reduced hepatic uptake.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.Z.); (T.G.)
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
- Department of Science and Development, Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
| | - Maria S. Tretyakova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (M.S.T.); (V.B.); (A.O.)
- Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vitalina Bodenko
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (M.S.T.); (V.B.); (A.O.)
| | - Mikhail V. Belousov
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (M.S.T.); (V.B.); (A.O.)
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (M.S.T.); (V.B.); (A.O.)
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (M.S.T.); (V.B.); (A.O.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-70-838-74-87
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.Z.); (T.G.)
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A. Radionuclides in Diagnostics and Therapy of Malignant Tumors: New Development. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14020297. [PMID: 35053459 PMCID: PMC8773826 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14020297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden;
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden;
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-7083-874-87
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Yin W, Xu T, Altai M, Oroujeni M, Zhang J, Vorobyeva A, Vorontsova O, Vtorushin SV, Tolmachev V, Gräslund T, Orlova A. The Influence of Domain Permutations of an Albumin-Binding Domain-Fused HER2-Targeting Affibody-Based Drug Conjugate on Tumor Cell Proliferation and Therapy Efficacy. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:1974. [PMID: 34834389 PMCID: PMC8617914 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13111974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is a clinically validated target for breast cancer therapy. Previously, a drug-fused HER2-targeting affinity protein construct successfully extended the survival of mice bearing HER2-expressing xenografts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the number and positioning of the protein domains in the drug conjugate. Seven HER2-targeting affibody-based constructs, including one or two affibody molecules (Z) with or without an albumin-binding domain (ABD), namely Z, Z-ABD, ABD-Z, Z-Z, Z-Z-ABD, Z-ABD-Z, and ABD-Z-Z, were evaluated on their effects on cell growth, in vivo targeting, and biodistribution. The biodistribution study demonstrated that the monomeric constructs had longer blood retention and lower hepatic uptake than the dimeric ones. A dimeric construct, specifically ABD-Z-Z, could stimulate the proliferation of HER2 expressing SKOV-3 cells in vitro and the growth of tumors in vivo, whereas the monomeric construct Z-ABD could not. These two constructs demonstrated a therapeutic effect when coupled to mcDM1; however, the effect was more pronounced for the non-stimulating Z-ABD. The median survival of the mice treated with Z-ABD-mcDM1 was 63 days compared to the 37 days for those treated with ABD-Z-Z-mcDM1 or for the control animals. Domain permutation of an ABD-fused HER2-targeting affibody-based drug conjugate significantly influences tumor cell proliferation and therapy efficacy. The monomeric conjugate Z-ABD is the most promising format for targeted delivery of the cytotoxic drug DM1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wen Yin
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden; (W.Y.); (J.Z.)
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.A.); (M.O.); (A.V.); (O.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Mohamed Altai
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.A.); (M.O.); (A.V.); (O.V.); (V.T.)
- Division of Oncology, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, 221 84 Lund, Sweden
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.A.); (M.O.); (A.V.); (O.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden; (W.Y.); (J.Z.)
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.A.); (M.O.); (A.V.); (O.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.A.); (M.O.); (A.V.); (O.V.); (V.T.)
| | - Sergey V. Vtorushin
- Pathology Department, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- General and Molecular Pathology Department, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (M.A.); (M.O.); (A.V.); (O.V.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden; (W.Y.); (J.Z.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Pathology Department, Siberian State Medical University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 752 37 Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Garousi J, Ding H, von Witting E, Xu T, Vorobyeva A, Oroujeni M, Orlova A, Hober S, Gräslund T, Tolmachev V. Targeting HER2 Expressing Tumors with a Potent Drug Conjugate Based on an Albumin Binding Domain-Derived Affinity Protein. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13111847. [PMID: 34834262 PMCID: PMC8619933 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13111847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Albumin binding domain derived affinity proteins (ADAPTs) are a class of small and folded engineered scaffold proteins that holds great promise for targeting cancer tumors. Here, we have extended the in vivo half-life of an ADAPT, targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) by fusion with an albumin binding domain (ABD), and armed it with the highly cytotoxic payload mertansine (DM1) for an investigation of its properties in vitro and in vivo. The resulting drug conjugate, ADAPT6-ABD-mcDM1, retained binding to its intended targets, namely HER2 and serum albumins. Further, it was able to specifically bind to cells with high HER2 expression, get internalized, and showed potent toxicity, with IC50 values ranging from 5 to 80 nM. Conversely, no toxic effect was found for cells with low HER2 expression. In vivo, ADAPT6-ABD-mcDM1, radiolabeled with 99mTc, was characterized by low uptake in most normal organs, and the main excretion route was shown to be through the kidneys. The tumor uptake was 5.5% ID/g after 24 h, which was higher than the uptake in all normal organs at this time point except for the kidneys. The uptake in the tumors was blockable by pre-injection of an excess of the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (having an overlapping epitope on the HER2 receptor). In conclusion, half-life extended drug conjugates based on the ADAPT platform of affinity proteins holds promise for further development towards targeted cancer therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Javad Garousi
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (H.D.); (E.v.W.); (S.H.)
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| | - Haozhong Ding
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (H.D.); (E.v.W.); (S.H.)
| | - Emma von Witting
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (H.D.); (E.v.W.); (S.H.)
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, RU-634 050 Tomsk, Russia;
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, RU-634 050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (H.D.); (E.v.W.); (S.H.)
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (J.G.); (H.D.); (E.v.W.); (S.H.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Deyev SM, Xu T, Liu Y, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Garousi J, Rinne SS, Larkina M, Ding H, Gräslund T, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Vorobyeva A. Influence of the Position and Composition of Radiometals and Radioiodine Labels on Imaging of Epcam Expression in Prostate Cancer Model Using the DARPin Ec1. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13143589. [PMID: 34298801 PMCID: PMC8304184 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13143589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Metastasis-targeting therapy might improve outcomes in oligometastatic prostate cancer. Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is overexpressed in 40–60% of prostate cancer cases and might be used as a target for specific delivery of toxins and drugs. Radionuclide molecular imaging could enable non-invasive detection of EpCAM and stratification of patients for targeted therapy. Designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) are scaffold proteins, which can be selected for specific binding to different targets. The DARPin Ec1 binds strongly to EpCAM. To determine an optimal design of Ec1-based probes, we labeled Ec1 at two different positions with four different nuclides (68Ga, 111In, 57Co and 125I) and investigated the impact on Ec1 biodistribution. We found that the C-terminus is the best position for labeling and that 111In and 125I provide the best imaging contrast. This study might be helpful for scientists developing imaging probes based on scaffold proteins. Abstract The epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is intensively overexpressed in 40–60% of prostate cancer (PCa) cases and can be used as a target for the delivery of drugs and toxins. The designed ankyrin repeat protein (DARPin) Ec1 has a high affinity to EpCAM (68 pM) and a small size (18 kDa). Radiolabeled Ec1 might be used as a companion diagnostic for the selection of PCa patients for therapy. The study aimed to investigate the influence of radiolabel position (N- or C-terminal) and composition on the targeting and imaging properties of Ec1. Two variants, having an N- or C-terminal cysteine, were produced, site-specifically conjugated to a DOTA chelator and labeled with cobalt-57, gallium-68 or indium-111. Site-specific radioiodination was performed using ((4-hydroxyphenyl)-ethyl)maleimide (HPEM). Biodistribution of eight radiolabeled Ec1-probes was measured in nude mice bearing PCa DU145 xenografts. In all cases, positioning of a label at the C-terminus provided the best tumor-to-organ ratios. The non-residualizing [125I]I-HPEM label provided the highest tumor-to-muscle and tumor-to-bone ratios and is more suitable for EpCAM imaging in early-stage PCa. Among the radiometals, indium-111 provided the highest tumor-to-blood, tumor-to-lung and tumor-to-liver ratios and could be used at late-stage PCa. In conclusion, label position and composition are important for the DARPin Ec1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergey M. Deyev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (S.M.D.); (A.S.); (M.L.); (A.O.); (A.V.)
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia;
- Bio-Nanophotonic Lab., Institute of Engineering Physics for Biomedicine (PhysBio), National Research Nuclear University “MEPhI”, 115409 Moscow, Russia
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (J.G.)
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (J.G.)
| | - Alexey Schulga
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (S.M.D.); (A.S.); (M.L.); (A.O.); (A.V.)
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Elena Konovalova
- Molecular Immunology Laboratory, Shemyakin & Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Javad Garousi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (J.G.)
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.D.); (T.G.)
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Maria Larkina
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (S.M.D.); (A.S.); (M.L.); (A.O.); (A.V.)
- Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, Siberian State Medical University (SSMU), 2, Moscow Trakt, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Haozhong Ding
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.D.); (T.G.)
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.D.); (T.G.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (S.M.D.); (A.S.); (M.L.); (A.O.); (A.V.)
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden;
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (S.M.D.); (A.S.); (M.L.); (A.O.); (A.V.)
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (J.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia; (S.M.D.); (A.S.); (M.L.); (A.O.); (A.V.)
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (Y.L.); (J.G.)
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Tolmachev V, Bragina O, Schulga A, Konovalova E, Garbukov E, Vorobyeva A, Orlova A, Deyev S, Chernov V. First-in-human evaluation of [99mTc]Tc-(HE)3-G3, a novel DARPin-based agent for imaging of HER2 expression in breast cancer. Nucl Med Biol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/s0969-8051(21)00295-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
41
|
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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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.
Collapse
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
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Oroujeni M, Rinne SS, Vorobyeva A, Loftenius A, Feldwisch J, Jonasson P, Chernov V, Orlova A, Frejd FY, Tolmachev V. Preclinical Evaluation of 99mTc-ZHER2:41071, a Second-Generation Affibody-Based HER2-Visualizing Imaging Probe with a Low Renal Uptake. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22052770. [PMID: 33803361 PMCID: PMC7967187 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Radionuclide imaging of HER2 expression in tumours may enable stratification of patients with breast, ovarian, and gastroesophageal cancers for HER2-targeting therapies. A first-generation HER2-binding affibody molecule [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 demonstrated favorable imaging properties in preclinical studies. Thereafter, the affibody scaffold has been extensively modified, which increased its melting point, improved storage stability, and increased hydrophilicity of the surface. In this study, a second-generation affibody molecule (designated ZHER2:41071) with a new improved scaffold has been prepared and characterized. HER2-binding, biodistribution, and tumour-targeting properties of [99mTc]Tc-labelled ZHER2:41071 were investigated. These properties were compared with properties of the first-generation affibody molecules, [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 and [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:2395. [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 bound specifically to HER2 expressing cells with an affinity of 58 ± 2 pM. The renal uptake for [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 and [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 was 25–30 fold lower when compared with [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:2395. The uptake in tumour and kidney for [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 and [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:V2 in SKOV-3 xenografts was similar. In conclusion, an extensive re-engineering of the scaffold did not compromise imaging properties of the affibody molecule labelled with 99mTc using a GGGC chelator. The new probe, [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 provided the best tumour-to-blood ratio compared to HER2-imaging probes for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) described in the literature so far. [99mTc]Tc-ZHER2:41071 is a promising candidate for further clinical translation studies.
Collapse
MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/chemistry
- Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/pharmacokinetics
- Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/pharmacology
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Female
- Humans
- Kidney/diagnostic imaging
- Kidney/metabolism
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Mice, Nude
- Neoplasms, Experimental/diagnostic imaging
- Neoplasms, Experimental/drug therapy
- Neoplasms, Experimental/metabolism
- Radiopharmaceuticals/chemical synthesis
- Radiopharmaceuticals/chemistry
- Radiopharmaceuticals/pharmacokinetics
- Radiopharmaceuticals/pharmacology
- Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism
- Technetium/chemistry
- Technetium/pharmacokinetics
- Technetium/pharmacology
- Tissue Distribution
- Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
- Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (F.Y.F.); (V.T.)
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (F.Y.F.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
| | | | | | - Per Jonasson
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden; (A.L.); (J.F.); (P.J.)
| | - Vladimir Chernov
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Nuclear Medicine Department, Cancer Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center Russian Academy of Sciences, 634009 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-073-9922846
| | - Fredrik Y. Frejd
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (F.Y.F.); (V.T.)
- Affibody AB, 171 65 Solna, Sweden; (A.L.); (J.F.); (P.J.)
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (F.Y.F.); (V.T.)
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden;
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Oroujeni M, Xu T, Gagnon K, Rinne SS, Weis J, Garousi J, Andersson KG, Löfblom J, Orlova A, Tolmachev V. The Use of a Non-Conventional Long-Lived Gallium Radioisotope 66Ga Improves Imaging Contrast of EGFR Expression in Malignant Tumours Using DFO-ZEGFR:2377 Affibody Molecule. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13020292. [PMID: 33672373 PMCID: PMC7926986 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13020292] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2021] [Revised: 02/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in many malignancies. EGFR-targeted therapy extends survival of patients with disseminated cancers. Radionuclide molecular imaging of EGFR expression would make EGFR-directed treatment more personalized and therefore more efficient. A previous study demonstrated that affibody molecule [68Ga]Ga-DFO-ZEGFR:2377 permits specific positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging of EGFR expression in xenografts at 3 h after injection. We anticipated that imaging at 24 h after injection would provide higher contrast, but this is prevented by the short half-life of 68Ga (67.6 min). Here, we therefore tested the hypothesis that the use of the non-conventional long-lived positron emitter 66Ga (T1/2 = 9.49 h, β+ = 56.5%) would permit imaging with higher contrast. 66Ga was produced by the 66Zn(p,n)66Ga nuclear reaction and DFO-ZEGFR:2377 was efficiently labelled with 66Ga with preserved binding specificity in vitro and in vivo. At 24 h after injection, [66Ga]Ga-DFO-ZEGFR:2377 provided 3.9-fold higher tumor-to-blood ratio and 2.3-fold higher tumor-to-liver ratio than [68Ga]Ga-DFO-ZEGFR:2377 at 3 h after injection. At the same time point, [66Ga]Ga-DFO-ZEGFR:2377 provided 1.8-fold higher tumor-to-blood ratio, 3-fold higher tumor-to-liver ratio, 1.9-fold higher tumor-to-muscle ratio and 2.3-fold higher tumor-to-bone ratio than [89Zr]Zr-DFO-ZEGFR:2377. Biodistribution data were confirmed by whole body PET combined with magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI). The use of the positron emitter 66Ga for labelling of DFO-ZEGFR:2377 permits PET imaging of EGFR expression at 24 h after injection and improves imaging contrast.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (T.X.); (J.G.)
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (T.X.); (J.G.)
| | - Katherine Gagnon
- GE Healthcare, GEMS PET Systems, 75015 Uppsala, Sweden;
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
| | - Sara S. Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
| | - Jan Weis
- Department of Medical Physics, Uppsala University Hospital, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden;
| | - Javad Garousi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (T.X.); (J.G.)
| | - Ken G. Andersson
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden; (K.G.A.); (J.L.)
| | - John Löfblom
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden; (K.G.A.); (J.L.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 75183 Uppsala, Sweden; (S.S.R.); (A.O.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (T.X.); (J.G.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Rinne SS, Abouzayed A, Gagnon K, Tolmachev V, Orlova A. 66Ga-PET-imaging of GRPR-expression in prostate cancer: production and characterization of [ 66Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG 2-RM26. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3631. [PMID: 33574368 PMCID: PMC7878787 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82995-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Molecular imaging of the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) could improve patient management in prostate cancer. This study aimed to produce gallium-66 (T½ = 9.5 h) suitable for radiolabeling, and investigate the imaging properties of gallium-66 labeled GRPR-antagonist NOTA-PEG2-RM26 for later-time point PET-imaging of GRPR expression. Gallium-66 was cyclotron-produced using a liquid target, and enriched [66Zn]Zn(NO3)2. In vitro, [66Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-RM26 was characterized in GRPR-expressing PC-3 prostate cancer cells. In vivo, specificity test and biodistribution studies were performed 3 h and 22 h pi in PC-3 xenografted mice. microPET/MR was performed 3 h and 22 h pi. Biodistribution of [66Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-RM26 was compared with [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-RM26 3 h pi. [66Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-RM26 was successfully prepared with preserved binding specificity and high affinity towards GRPR. [66Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-RM26 cleared rapidly from blood via kidneys. Tumor uptake was GRPR-specific and exceeded normal organ uptake. Normal tissue clearance was limited, resulting in no improvement of tumor-to-organ ratios with time. Tumors could be clearly visualized using microPET/MR. Gallium-66 was successfully produced and [66Ga]Ga-NOTA-PEG2-RM26 was able to clearly visualize GRPR-expression both shortly after injection and on the next day using PET. However, delayed imaging did not improve contrast for Ga-labeled NOTA-PEG2-RM26.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara S Rinne
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ayman Abouzayed
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | | | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Centrum for Oncotheranostics, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Centrum for Oncotheranostics, National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia.
- Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Mitran B, Tolmachev V, Orlova A. Radiolabeled GRPR Antagonists for Imaging of Disseminated Prostate Cancer - Influence of Labeling Chemistry on Targeting Properties. Curr Med Chem 2021; 27:7090-7111. [PMID: 32164503 DOI: 10.2174/0929867327666200312114902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 12/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radionuclide molecular imaging of Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Receptor (GRPR) expression promises unparalleled opportunities for visualizing subtle prostate tumors, which due to small size, adjacent benign tissue, or a challenging location would otherwise remain undetected by conventional imaging. Achieving high imaging contrast is essential for this purpose and the molecular design of any probe for molecular imaging of prostate cancer should be aimed at obtaining as high tumor-to-organ ratios as possible. OBJECTIVE This short review summarizes the key imaging modalities currently used in prostate cancer, with a special focus on radionuclide molecular imaging. Emphasis is laid mainly on the issue of radiometals labeling chemistry and its influence on the targeting properties and biodistribution of radiolabeled GRPR antagonists for imaging of disseminated prostate cancer. METHODS A comprehensive literature search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, and Scopus library databases was conducted to find relevant articles. RESULTS The combination of radionuclide, chelator and required labeling chemistry was shown to have a significant influence on the stability, binding affinity and internalization rate, off-target interaction with normal tissues and blood proteins, interaction with enzymes, activity uptake and retention in excretory organs and activity uptake in tumors of radiolabeled bombesin antagonistic analogues. CONCLUSION Labeling chemistry has a very strong impact on the biodistribution profile of GRPRtargeting peptide based imaging probes and needs to be considered when designing a targeting probe for high contrast molecular imaging. Taking into account the complexity of in vivo interactions, it is not currently possible to accurately predict the optimal labeling approach. Therefore, a detailed in vivo characterization and optimization is essential for the rational design of imaging agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bogdan Mitran
- Department of Medicianl Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Department of Medicianl Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Tano H, Oroujeni M, Vorobyeva A, Westerlund K, Liu Y, Xu T, Vasconcelos D, Orlova A, Karlström AE, Tolmachev V. Comparative Evaluation of Novel 177Lu-Labeled PNA Probes for Affibody-Mediated PNA-Based Pretargeting. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13030500. [PMID: 33525578 PMCID: PMC7865858 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13030500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Affibody molecules are small, engineered affinity proteins based on a nonimmunoglobulin scaffold. Affibody-based radionuclide imaging probes have demonstrated excellent tumor targeting. However, the renal clearance of affibody molecules is accompanied by high reabsorption and retention of activity in the kidney, which prevents their use for radionuclide therapy. We have previously shown the feasibility of overcoming the high renal uptake using a pretargeting approach for affibody-mediated therapy based on peptide nucleic acid (PNA) hybridization. In this study, we test the hypothesis that shortening the PNA pretargeting probes would further increase the difference between the accumulation of radiometals in tumor xenografts and in kidneys. A series of novel PNA probes has been designed and evaluated in vitro and in vivo. We have found that a variant containing 9 nucleobases enables a two-fold increase of the tumor-to-kidney dose ratio compared with a variant containing 15 nucleobases. This creates preconditions for more efficient therapy of cancer. Abstract Affibody-mediated PNA-based pretargeting is a promising approach to radionuclide therapy of HER2-expressing tumors. In this study, we test the hypothesis that shortening the PNA pretargeting probes would increase the tumor-to-kidney dose ratio. The primary probe ZHER2:342-SR-HP15 and the complementary secondary probes HP16, HP17, and HP18, containing 9, 12, and 15 nucleobases, respectively, and carrying a 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelator were designed, synthesized, characterized in vitro, and labeled with 177Lu. In vitro pretargeting was studied in HER2-expressing SKOV3 and BT474 cell lines. The biodistribution of these novel probes was evaluated in immunodeficient mice bearing SKOV3 xenografts and compared to the previously studied [177Lu]Lu-HP2. Characterization confirmed the formation of high-affinity duplexes between HP15 and the secondary probes, with the affinity correlating with the length of the complementary PNA sequences. All the PNA-based probes were bound specifically to HER2-expressing cells in vitro. In vivo studies demonstrated HER2-specific uptake of all 177Lu-labeled probes in xenografts in a pretargeting setting. The ratio of cumulated radioactivity in the tumor to the radioactivity in kidneys was dependent on the secondary probe’s size and decreased with an increased number of nucleobases. The shortest PNA probe, [177Lu]Lu-HP16, showed the highest tumor-to-kidney ratio. [177Lu]Lu-HP16 is the most promising secondary probe for affibody-mediated tumor pretargeting.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Tano
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.T.); (K.W.); (D.V.)
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 20, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (Y.L.); (T.X.); (V.T.)
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 20, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (Y.L.); (T.X.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
| | - Kristina Westerlund
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.T.); (K.W.); (D.V.)
| | - Yongsheng Liu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 20, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (Y.L.); (T.X.); (V.T.)
| | - Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 20, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (Y.L.); (T.X.); (V.T.)
| | - Daniel Vasconcelos
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.T.); (K.W.); (D.V.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 14C, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Amelie Eriksson Karlström
- Department of Protein Science, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden; (H.T.); (K.W.); (D.V.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 20, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (M.O.); (A.V.); (Y.L.); (T.X.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Tolmachev V, Orlova A, Sörensen J. The emerging role of radionuclide molecular imaging of HER2 expression in breast cancer. Semin Cancer Biol 2021; 72:185-197. [PMID: 33465471 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2020.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Targeting of human epidermal growth factor type 2 (HER2) using monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates and tyrosine kinase inhibitors extends survival of patients with HER2-expressing metastatic breast cancer. High expression of HER2 is a predictive biomarker for such specific treatment. Accurate determination of HER2 expression level is necessary for stratification of patients to targeted therapy. Non-invasive in vivo radionuclide molecular imaging of HER2 has a potential of repetitive measurements, addressing issues of heterogeneous expression and conversion of HER2 status during disease progression or in response to therapy. Imaging probes based of several classes of targeting proteins are currently in preclinical and early clinical development. Both preclinical and clinical data suggest that the most promising are imaging agents based on small proteins, such as single domain antibodies or engineered scaffold proteins. These agents permit a very specific high-contrast imaging at the day of injection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia.
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jens Sörensen
- Division of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Department of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Xu T, Ding H, Vorobyeva A, Oroujeni M, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Gräslund T. Drug Conjugates Based on a Monovalent Affibody Targeting Vector Can Efficiently Eradicate HER2 Positive Human Tumors in an Experimental Mouse Model. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 13:cancers13010085. [PMID: 33396753 PMCID: PMC7794879 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13010085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Drug conjugates, consisting of a tumor targeting part coupled to a highly toxic molecule, are promising for treatment of many different types of cancer. However, for many patients it is not curative, and investigation of alternative or complimentary types of drug conjugates is motivated. Here, we have devised and studied a novel cancer cell-directed drug conjugate ZHER2:2891-ABD-E3-mcDM1. We found that it could induce efficient shrinkage and, in some cases, complete regression of human tumors implanted in mice, and thus holds promise to become a therapeutic agent for clinical use in the future. Abstract The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is frequently overexpressed in a variety of cancers and therapies targeting HER2 are routinely used in the clinic. Recently, small engineered scaffold proteins, such as affibody molecules, have shown promise as carriers of cytotoxic drugs, and these drug conjugates may become complements or alternatives to the current HER2-targeting therapies. Here, we investigated if a monovalent HER2-binding affibody molecule, ZHER2:2891, fused with a plasma half-life extending albumin binding domain (ABD), may be used as carrier of the cytotoxic maytansine derivate mcDM1. We found that the resulting drug conjugate, ZHER2:2891-ABD-E3-mcDM1, had strong affinity for its cognate molecular targets: HER2 and serum albumin. ZHER2:2891-ABD-E3-mcDM1 displayed potent cytotoxic activity towards cells with high HER2 expression, with IC50 values ranging from 0.6 to 33 nM. In vivo, an unspecific increase in uptake in the liver, imparted by the hydrophobic mcDM1, was counteracted by incorporation of hydrophilic and negatively charged glutamate residues near the site of mcDM1 conjugation. A dose-escalation experiment showed that increasing doses up to 15.1 mg/kg gave a proportional increase in uptake in xenografted HER2-overexpressing SKOV3 tumors, after which the tumors became saturated. Experimental therapy with four once-weekly injection of 10.3 or 15.1 mg/kg led to efficient regression of tumors in all animals and complete regression in some. Weight loss was detected for some animals in the group receiving the highest dose, suggesting that it was close to the maximum tolerated dose. In conclusion, the monovalent HER2-targeting affibody drug conjugate presented herein have potent anti-tumor activity in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianqi Xu
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| | - Haozhong Ding
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden;
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, 751 23 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden; (T.X.); (A.V.); (M.O.); (V.T.)
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Russia;
| | - Torbjörn Gräslund
- Department of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Roslagstullsbacken 21, 114 17 Stockholm, Sweden;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +46-(0)8-790-96-27
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Larkina MS, Ozerskaya AV, Podrezova EV, Belousov MV, Tolmachev V, Zhdankin VV, Yusubov MS. Efficient Synthesis of ω‐[
18
F]Fluoroaliphatic Carboxylic Esters and Acids for Positron Emission Tomography. European J Org Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.202000934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mariia S. Larkina
- Tomsk Polytechnic University 634050 Tomsk Russia
- Siberian State Medical University 634050 Tomsk Russia
| | - Anastasia V. Ozerskaya
- Tomsk Polytechnic University 634050 Tomsk Russia
- Federal Siberian Research Clinical Centre 660037 Krasnoyarsk Russia
| | | | - Mikhail V. Belousov
- Tomsk Polytechnic University 634050 Tomsk Russia
- Siberian State Medical University 634050 Tomsk Russia
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Tomsk Polytechnic University 634050 Tomsk Russia
- Department of Immunology Genetics and Pathology Uppsala University 75185 Uppsala Sweden
| | - Viktor V. Zhdankin
- Tomsk Polytechnic University 634050 Tomsk Russia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Minnesota Duluth Duluth Mineesota USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Garousi J, von Witting E, Borin J, Vorobyeva A, Altai M, Vorontsova O, Konijnenberg MW, Oroujeni M, Orlova A, Tolmachev V, Hober S. Radionuclide therapy using ABD-fused ADAPT scaffold protein: Proof of Principle. Biomaterials 2020; 266:120381. [PMID: 33120197 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2020.120381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Molecular recognition in targeted therapeutics is typically based on immunoglobulins. Development of engineered scaffold proteins (ESPs) has provided additional opportunities for the development of targeted therapies. ESPs offer inexpensive production in prokaryotic hosts, high stability and convenient approaches to modify their biodistribution. In this study, we demonstrated successful modification of the biodistribution of an ESP known as ADAPT (Albumin-binding domain Derived Affinity ProTein). ADAPTs are selected from a library based on the scaffold of ABD (Albumin Binding Domain) of protein G. A particular ADAPT, the ADAPT6, binds to human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) with high affinity. Preclinical and early clinical studies have demonstrated that radiolabeled ADAPT6 can image HER2-expression in tumors with high contrast. However, its rapid glomerular filtration and high renal reabsorption have prevented its use in radionuclide therapy. To modify the biodistribution, ADAPT6 was genetically fused to an ABD. The non-covalent binding to the host's albumin resulted in a 14-fold reduction of renal uptake and appreciable increase of tumor uptake for the best variant, 177Lu-DOTA-ADAPT6-ABD035. Experimental therapy in mice bearing HER2-expressing xenografts demonstrated more than two-fold increase of median survival even after a single injection of 18 MBq 177Lu-DOTA-ADAPT6-ABD035. Thus, a fusion with ABD and optimization of the molecular design provides ADAPT derivatives with attractive targeting properties for radionuclide therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Javad Garousi
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Emma von Witting
- Department of Protein Technology, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesper Borin
- Department of Protein Technology, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anzhelika Vorobyeva
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden; Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia
| | - Mohamed Altai
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Olga Vorontsova
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark W Konijnenberg
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Maryam Oroujeni
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anna Orlova
- Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Vladimir Tolmachev
- Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, SE-75185, Uppsala, Sweden; Research Centrum for Oncotheranostics, Research School of Chemistry and Applied Biomedical Sciences, Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia.
| | - Sophia Hober
- Department of Protein Technology, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|