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Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with 18F-labeled α-methyl-substituted amino acids exerts significant influence on differential diagnosis of malignant tumors and tumor-like lesions. Exclusive uptake via L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), a tumor-specific transporter, accounts for their excellent tumor specificity and low background accumulation. However, further refinement and optimization in their tumor accumulation and pharmacokinetics are sorely needed. To address these issues, we newly designed 18F-labeled α-methyl-phenylalanine (18F-FAMP) regioisomers (2-, 3-, or 4-18F-FAMP) and stereoisomers (L- or D-form), and we comprehensively evaluated their potential as tumor-imaging agents. 18F-FAMPs were prepared from α-methyl phenylalanine by electrophilic radiofluorination and purified by reversed-phase HPLC. In biodistribution studies on normal mice, L-2-18F-FAMP and the three D-18F-FAMPs showed faster blood clearance and lower renal accumulation than L-3-18F-FAMP or L-4-18F-FAMP. In LS180 human colorectal cancer cell line xenograft mice, L-2-18F-FAMP exhibited significantly higher tumor accumulation than the D-18F-FAMPs or a clinically relevant tracer, L-3-18F-α-methyl-tyrosine (18F-FAMT) (p < 0.05). The renal accumulation levels of L-2-18F-FAMP were significantly lower than that of 18F-FAMT (p < 0.01). LAT-1 specificity of L-2-18F-FAMP was validated in the cellular uptake studies. The PET imaging with L-2-18F-FAMP clearly visualized the tumor as early as 1 h after injection, and the high tumor accumulation level was retained for 3 h. These findings suggest that L-2-18F-FAMP constitutes a potential PET tracer for tumor-specific imaging.

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with

The overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in varying types of solid tumor renders radioimmunotherapy (RIT) with the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab (BV) a promising treatment. However, the slow blood clearance of BV, which may increase the occurrence risk of hematotoxicity, hinders the application of BV-RIT. Using the avidin chase is a long-known blood clearance enhancement strategy for biotinylated-mAb. To enhance RIT efficacy by increasing the radioactivity dose, we evaluated the ability of avidin to accelerate the blood clearance of yttrium-90 (90Y)-labeled biotinylated BV (90Y-Bt-BV) in a xenograft mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The biodistribution study in the TNBC xenograft mice confirmed the high and specific tumor accumulation of the indium-111 (111In)-BV. The blood clearance enhancement effect of the avidin chase was demonstrated in the normal mouse studies with 111In-Bt-BV. In the subsequent biodistribution studies with the tumor-bearing mice, an optimi...

Glypican-3 (GPC3) represents an attractive target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy because it is highly expressed in HCC but not in adult normal tissue. Recently, high affinity anti-GPC3 antibodies have been developed; however, full antibodies may not penetrate evenly into tumor parenchyma, reducing their effectiveness. In this study, we compared a whole IgG antibody, anti-GPC3 YP7, with an anti-GPC3 human heavy chain antibody, HN3, with regard to their relative therapeutic effects. Both YP7 and HN3 bound to GPC3-positive A431/G1 cells and were internalized by the cells by in vitro evaluation with (125)I- and (111)In-radiolabeling antibodies. In vivo biodistribution and tumor accumulation was performed with (111)In-labeled antibodies, and intratumoral microdistribution was evaluated using fluorescently labeled antibodies (IR700). HN3 showed similar high tumor accumulation but superior homogeneity within the tumor compared with YP7. Using the same IR700 conjugated antibodies photoimmunotherapy (PIT) was performed in vitro and in a tumor-bearing mouse model in vivo. PIT with IR700-HN3 and IR700-YP7 demonstrated that comparable results could be achieved despite of low reaccumulation 24 h after the first NIR light exposure. These results indicated that a heavy-chain antibody, HN3, showed more favorable characteristics than YP7, a conventional IgG, as a therapeutic antibody platform for designing molecularly targeted agents against HCC.

The high and persistent radioactivity at the injection site hinders the accuracy and expansion of sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping. We investigated the mechanism underlying the undesirable radioactivity after subcutaneous injection of (99m)Tc-labeled mannosylated dextran ((99m)Tc(CO)3-DCM20), a SLN mapping agent targeting mannose receptors on macrophages and dendritic cells, in a mouse model. Biodistribution studies were performed 1 h after subcutaneous injection of (99m)Tc(CO)3-DCM20 from the rear footpad of mice in the presence of varying molar amounts of DCM20 or DC15, a modified dextran without mannose. Biodistribution studies were also conducted after subcutaneous injection of [(125)I]radioiodinated mannosyl-neoglycoalbumin ((125)I-NMA) from the rear footpad. The distribution of fluorescence-labeled DCM20 and DC15 at the injection site was also compared 1 h after subcutaneous injection by immunofluorescent histochemistry. The radioactivity levels of (99m)Tc(CO)3-DCM20 at the injection site and popliteal lymph node, a SLN in this model, decreased with an increase in the molar amounts of DCM20, whereas no significant changes in biodistribution were observed after injection of (99m)Tc(CO)3-DCM20 with varying molar amounts of DC15. (125)I-NMA exhibited rapid elimination of radioactivity from both the popliteal lymph node and the injection site. The fluorescence-labeled DCM20 colocalized well with CD68-positive cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells at the injection site. While partial colocalization was observed between DC15 and CD68-positive cells, the signal intensity was very weak. These findings suggest that specific binding of (99m)Tc(CO)3-DCM20 to the mannose receptor on macrophages and dendritic cells would be responsible for the sustained radioactivity levels at the injection site. These results also imply that discriminated blockage of (99m)Tc(CO)3-DCM20 binding to mannose receptors at the injection sites would reduce the radioactivity at the injection site.