Comparative evaluation of synthetic anti-HER2 Affibody molecules site-specifically labelled with In-111 using N-terminal DOTA, NOTA and NODAGA chelators in mice bearing prostate cancer xenografts

• Purpose In disseminated prostate cancer, expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2) is one of the pathways to androgen independence. Radionuclide molecular imaging of HER2 expression in disseminated prostate cancer might identify patients for HER2-targeted therapy. Affibody molecules are small (7 kDa) targeting proteins with high potential as tracers for radionuclide imaging. The goal of this study was to develop an optimal Affibody-based tracer for visualization of HER2 expression in prostate cancer. Methods A synthetic variant of the anti-HER2 Z(HER2:342) Affibody molecule, Z(HER2:S1), was N-terminally conjugated with the chelators DOTA, NOTA and NODAGA. The conjugated proteins were biophysically characterized by electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS), circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor analysis. After labelling with In-111, the biodistribution was assessed in normal mice and the two most promising conjugates were further evaluated for tumour targeting in mice bearing DU-145 prostate cancer xenografts. Results The HER2-binding equilibrium dissociation constants were 130, 140 and 90 pM for DOTA-Z(HER2:S1), NOTA-Z(HER2:S1) and NODAGA-Z(HER2:S1), respectively. A comparative study of In-111-labelled DOTA-Z(HER2:S1), NOTA-Z(HER2:S1) and NODAGA-Z(HER2:S1) in normal mice demonstrated a substantial influence of the chelators on the biodistribution properties of the conjugates. In-111-NODAGA-Z(HER2:S1) had the most rapid clearance from blood and healthy tissues. In-111-NOTA-Z(HER2:S1) showed high hepatic uptake and was excluded from further evaluation. In-111-DOTA-Z(HER2:S1) and In-111-NODAGAZHER2: S1 demonstrated specific uptake in DU-145 prostate cancer xenografts in nude mice. The tumour uptake of In-111-NODAGA-Z(HER2:S1), 5.6 +/- 0.4% ID/g, was significantly lower than the uptake of In-111-DOTA-Z(HER2:S1), 7.4 +/- 0.5% ID/g, presumably because of lower bioavailability due to more rapid clearance. In-111-NODAGA-Z(HER2:S1) provided higher tumour-to-blood ratio, but somewhat lower tumour-to-liver, tumour-to-spleen and tumour-to-bone ratios. Conclusion Since distant prostate cancer metastases are situated in bone or bone marrow, the higher tumour-to-bone ratio is the most important. This renders In-111-DOTA-Z(HER2:S1) a preferable agent for imaging of HER2 expression in disseminated prostate cancer.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Radiologi och bildbehandling (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

HER2 expression

Affibody molecule

Radionuclide molecular imaging

Prostate cancer

Macrocyclic chelators

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