OncoTargets and Therapy (Jun 2015)

Exploration of peptide T7 and its derivative as integrin αvβ3-targeted imaging agents

  • He X,
  • Hao Y,
  • Long W,
  • Song N,
  • Fan S,
  • Meng A

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2015, no. default
pp. 1483 – 1491

Abstract

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Xin He,1 Yumei Hao,1,2 Wei Long,1 Naling Song,1 Saijun Fan,1 Aimin Meng11Tianjin Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Reproductive Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, People’s Republic of ChinaObjective: The aim of the present study was to develop potential candidates of integrin αvβ3-targeted imaging agent, which can facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of malignant solid tumors.Methods: Peptides derived from tumstatin, named T7 and T7-6H, were derivatized to contain histidine in the C-terminus of their sequence and were labeled with 99mTc via nitrido and carbonyl precursors. The radiochemical purity and stability of 99mTc-labeled T7 and T7-6H were characterized by thin-layer chromatography. The whole body biodistribution was studied in NCI-H157-bearing BALB/c nude mice.Results: The 99mTc-labeled T7 and T7-6H showed adequate in vitro stability, with a high radiochemical purity of over 90%. The dissociation constant (Kd) value of the 99mTc-labeled T7 and T7-6H ranged from 68.5 nM to 140.8 nM in U251 and NCI-H157 cell lines. 99mTc-labeled T7 and T7-6H showed no significant difference of biodistribution in mice. Furthermore, both T7 and T7-6H exhibited a poor blood–brain barrier penetration and a transient accumulation in lung; the uptake in tumor tissues was significantly higher than in muscle tissue, with a ratio of 5.8.Conclusion: 99mTc-labeled T7 and T7-6H can be regarded as promising single-photon emission computed tomography probes for imaging integrin αvβ3, and need to be further studied for noninvasive detection of tumors.Keywords: integrin, angiogenesis, ligands