Haojun Chen1,2, Orit Jacobson2, Gang Niu2, Ido D Weiss3, Dale O Kiesewetter2, Yi Liu2, Ying Ma2, Hua Wu1, Xiaoyuan Chen4. 1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xiamen Cancer Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. 2. Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and. 3. Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. 4. Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; and shawn.chen@nih.gov.
Abstract
One of the major design considerations for a drug is its pharmacokinetics in the blood. A drug with a short half-life in the blood is less available at a target organ. Such a limitation dictates treatment with either high doses or more frequent doses, both of which may increase the likelihood of undesirable side effects. To address the need for additional methods to improve the blood half-life of drugs and molecular imaging agents, we developed an "add-on" molecule that contains 3 groups: a truncated Evans blue dye molecule that binds to albumin with a low micromolar affinity and provides a prolonged half-life in the blood; a metal chelate that allows radiolabeling for imaging and radiotherapy; and maleimide for easy conjugation to drug molecules. Methods: The truncated Evans blue molecule was conjugated with the chelator NOTA or DOTA, and the resulting conjugate was denoted as NMEB or DMEB, respectively. As a proof of concept, we coupled NMEB and DMEB to c(RGDfK), which is a small cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide, for targeting integrin αvβ3 NMEB and DMEB were radiolabeled with 64Cu and 90Y, respectively, and tested in xenograft models. Results: The resulting radiolabeled conjugates showed a prolonged circulation half-life and enhanced tumor accumulation in integrin αvβ3-expressing tumors. Tumor uptake was markedly improved over that with NOTA- or DOTA-conjugated c(RGDfK). Tumor radiotherapy experiments in mice with 90Y-DMEB-RGD showed promising results; existing tumors were eliminated. Conclusion: Conjugation of our novel add-on molecule, NMEB or DMEB, to potential tracers or therapeutic agents improved blood half-life and tumor uptake and could transform such agents into theranostic entities.
One of the major design considerations for a drug is its pharmacokinetics in the blood. A drug with a short half-life in the blood is less available at a target organ. Such a limitation dictates treatment with either high doses or more frequent doses, both of which may increase the likelihood of undesirable side effects. To address the need for additional methods to improve the blood half-life of drugs and molecular imaging agents, we developed an "add-on" molecule that contains 3 groups: a truncated Evans blue dye molecule that binds to albumin with a low micromolar affinity and provides a prolonged half-life in the blood; a metal chelate that allows radiolabeling for imaging and radiotherapy; and maleimide for easy conjugation to drug molecules. Methods: The truncated Evans blue molecule was conjugated with the chelator NOTA or DOTA, and the resulting conjugate was denoted as NMEB or DMEB, respectively. As a proof of concept, we coupled NMEB and DMEB to c(RGDfK), which is a small cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide, for targeting integrin αvβ3 NMEB and DMEB were radiolabeled with 64Cu and 90Y, respectively, and tested in xenograft models. Results: The resulting radiolabeled conjugates showed a prolonged circulation half-life and enhanced tumor accumulation in integrin αvβ3-expressing tumors. Tumor uptake was markedly improved over that with NOTA- or DOTA-conjugated c(RGDfK). Tumor radiotherapy experiments in mice with 90Y-DMEB-RGD showed promising results; existing tumors were eliminated. Conclusion: Conjugation of our novel add-on molecule, NMEB or DMEB, to potential tracers or therapeutic agents improved blood half-life and tumor uptake and could transform such agents into theranostic entities.
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