Synthesis and Evaluation of [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn for PET Imaging of Transferrin Receptor 1 Expression in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

As recurrent and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most common cause of death among patients with NPC, there is an urgent clinical need for the development of precision diagnosis to guide personalized treatment. Recent emerging evidence substantiates the increased expression of transferrin receptor 1 (also known as cluster of differentiation 71, CD71) within tumor tissues and the inherent targeting capability of natural heavy-chain ferritin (HFn) toward CD71. This study aimed to synthesize and assess a radiotracer ([64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn) designed to target CD71 for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in an NPC tumor-bearing mouse model. The entire radiolabeling process of [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn was completed within 15 min with high yield (>98.5%) and high molar activity (72.96 ± 21.33 GBq/µmol). The in vitro solubility and stability experiments indicated that [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn had a high water solubility (log P = -2.42 ± 0.52, n = 6) and good stability in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for up to 48 h. The cell saturation binding assay indicated that [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn had a nanomolar affinity (Kd = 10.9 ± 6.1 nM) for CD71-overexpressing C666-1 cells. To test the target engagement in vivo, prolonged-time PET imaging was performed at 1, 6, 12, 24, and 36 h postinjection (p.i.) of [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn to C666-1 NPC tumor-bearing mice. The C666-1 tumors could be visualized by [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn and blocked by nonradiolabeled HFn. PET imaging quantitative analysis demonstrated that the uptake of [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn in C666-1 tumors peaked at 6 h p.i. and the best radioactive tumor-to-muscle ratio was 10.53 ± 3.11 (n = 3). Ex vivo biodistribution assay at 6 h p.i. showed that the tumor uptakes were 1.43 ± 0.23%ID/g in the nonblock group and 0.92 ± 0.2%ID/g in the block group (n = 3, p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining confirmed positive expression of CD71 and the uptake of HFn in C666-1 tumor tissues. In conclusion, our experiments demonstrated that [64Cu]Cu-NOTA-HFn possesses a very high target engagement for CD71-positive NPC tumors and provided a fundamental basis for further clinical translation.

Activated Microglia in the Early Stage of a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease: Revealed by PET-MRI Imaging by [18F]DPA-714 Targeting TSPO.

In the past decades, translocator protein (TSPO) has been considered as an in vivo biomarker to measure the presence of neuroinflammatory reactions. In this study, expression of TSPO was quantified via [18F]DPA-714 positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI) to investigate the effects of microglial activation associated with motor behavioral impairments in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated rodent model of Parkinson's disease (PD). [18F]FDG PET-MRI (for non-specific inflammation), [18F]D6-FP-(+)-DTBZ PET-MRI (for damaged dopaminergic (DA) neurons), post-PET immunofluorescence, and Pearson's correlation analyses were also performed. The time course of striatal [18F]DPA-714 binding ratio was elevated in 6-OHDA-treated rats during 1-3 weeks post-treatments, with peak TSPO binding in the 1st week. No difference between the bilateral striatum in [18F]FDG PET imaging were found. Moreover, an obvious correlation between [18F]DPA-714 SUVRR/L and rotation numbers was found (r = 0.434, *p = 0.049). No correlation between [18F]FDG SUVRR/L and rotation behavior was found. [18F]DPA-714 appeared to be a potential PET tracer for imaging the microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in the early stage of PD.

PET Imaging of P2X7 Receptor (P2X7R) for Neuroinflammation with Improved Radiosynthesis of Tracer [18F]4A in Mice and Non-human Primates.

The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is a key neuroinflammation target in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Improved radiosynthesis was developed according to the previously reported P2X7R antagonist GSK1482160. Biodistribution, radiometabolite, and dynamic positron emission tomography/computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET/CT-MRI) of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) rat model and the transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) revealed a stable, low uptake of [18F]4A in the brain of healthy rats but a higher standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) in LPS-treated rats (1.316 ± 0.062, n = 3) than in sham (1.093 ± 0.029, n = 3). There were higher area under curves (AUCs) in the neocortex (25.12 ± 1.11 vs 18.94 ± 1.47), hippocampus (22.50 ± 3.41 vs 15.90 ± 1.59), and basal ganglia (22.26 ± 0.81 vs 15.32 ± 1.76) of AD mice (n = 3) than the controls (n = 3) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, 50 min dynamic PET in healthy nonhuman primates (NHPs) indicated [18F]4A could penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In conclusion, [18F]4A from this study is a potent P2X7R PET tracer that warrants further neuroinflammation quantification in human studies.

Hetero-aryl bromide precursor fluorine-18 radiosynthesis and preclinical evaluation of a novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracer [18F]GSK1482160.

The purinergic P2X7 receptor (P2X7R), an ATP gated ion channel, is an important therapeutic target for various inflammatory immune and neurodegenerative diseases. A novel P2X7R targeting radiotracer GSK1482160 was radiosynthesized by hetero-aryl bromides precursor 10 with [18F]Et4NF, 20-30 % radiochemical yield, > 68 GBq/µmol specific activity, >98 % radiochemical purity. Evaluation in healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats revealed that [18F]GSK1482160 ([18F]11) was stably retained 87.81 %, 72.45 %, and 56.32 % in brain, blood and liver respectively 60-min post-injection. Ex-vivo biodistribution of [18F]11 proved that it was able to target the P2X7R in vivo and there was no defluorination in the major organs. PET/MRI imaging and autoradiography revealed that [18F]11 was able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and to be a promising P2X7R PET radioligand for clinical translation.

Evaluation of [18F]F-TZ3108 for PET Imaging of Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease.

PURPOSE: Sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R), a chaperone that resides at the mitochondrion-associated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, is an ER stress biomarker. It is thought that ER stress plays a critical role in the progression of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). The aim of this study was to evaluate a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer [18F]F-TZ3108 targeting Sig-1R for MAFLD. PROCEDURES: The mouse model of MAFLD was established by feeding high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks. Dynamic (0-60 min) PET/CT scans were performed after intravenous injection of 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]-FDG) and [18F]F-TZ3108. Tracer kinetic modeling was performed for quantification of the PET/CT imaging of the liver. Post-PET biodistribution, the liver tissue western blotting (WB), and immunofluorescence (IF) were performed to compare the expression of Sig-1R levels in the organs harvested from both MAFLD and age-matched control mice. RESULTS: The micro PET/CT imaging revealed a significantly decreased uptake of [18F]F-TZ3108 in the livers of the MAFLD group compared to the healthy controls, while the uptake of [18F]-FDG in the livers was not significantly different between the two groups. Based on the tracer kinetic modeling, the binding disassociate rate (k4) for [18F]F-TZ3108 was significantly increased in MAFLD group compared to healthy controls. The volume distribution (VT), and the non-displacement binding potential (BPND) revealed significantly decrease in MAFLD compared to healthy controls respectively. The post-PET biodistribution (%ID/g) of [18F]F-TZ3108 in the livers of MAFLD mice was significantly reduced nearly twofold than that in the livers of control mice. WB and IF experiments further confirmed the reduction of Sig-1R expression in the MAFLD group. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of Sig-1R in the liver, measured by the PET tracer, [18F]F-TZ3108, was significantly decreased in mouse model of MAFLD. The [18F]F-TZ3108 PET/CT imaging may provide a novel means of visualization for ER stress in MAFLD or other diseases in vivo.

Preclinical evaluation of the mono-PEGylated recombinant human interleukin-11 in cynomolgus monkeys.

The mono-PEGylated recombinant human interleukin-11 (rhIL-11) was evaluated for its pharmacology and toxicology profile in non-human primates. This PEGylated IL-11 (PEG-IL11) showed a much prolonged circulating half-life of 67h in cynomolgus monkeys as compared to its un-PEGylated counterpart (~3h) through subcutaneous administration, implicating that a single injection of the recommended dose will effectively enhance thrombopoiesis in humans for a much longer period of time compared to rhIL-11 in humans (t1/2=6.9h). The toxicokinetics study of single dose and multiple doses showed that systemic exposure was positively correlated with the dosing level, implying that efficacy and toxicity were mechanism-based. A single high dose at 6.25mg/kg through subcutaneous route revealed tolerable and transient toxicity. Multiple-dose in monkeys receiving 0.3mg/kg weekly of the drug developed only mild to moderate toxicity. Major adverse events and immunogenicity in monkeys were only observed in the overdose groups. Bones were positively impacted; while reversible toxicities in heart, liver, kidney and lung observed were likely to be consequences of fluid retention. In summary, the PEG moiety on rhIL-11 did not elicit additional toxicities, and the drug under investigation was found to be well tolerated in monkeys after receiving a single effective dose of 0.1-0.3mg/kg through subcutaneous delivery, which may be allometrically scaled to a future clinical dose at 30-100µg/kg, creating a potential long acting, safer, and more convenient treatment approach based on rhIL-11.

Detoxification of benzo[a]pyrene primarily depends on cytochrome P450, while bioactivation involves additional oxidoreductases including 5-lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase, and aldo-keto reductase in the liver.

Cytochrome P450s are involved in detoxification and activation of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) with unclear balance and unknown contribution of other oxidoreductases. Here, we investigated the BaP and BaP-induced mutagenicity in hepatic and extra-hepatic tissues using hepatic P450 reductase null (HRN) gpt mice. After 2-week treatment (50 mg/kg, i.p. 4 days), BaP in the liver and lung of HRN-gpt mice were increased. BaP promoted gpt mutant frequency (MF) in HRN-gpt mice liver. MF of gpt in the lung and Pig-a in hematopoietic cells induced by BaP in HRN-gpt mice were increased than in gpt mice. BaP-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE)-DNA adducts in vitro was analyzed for enzymes detection in BaP bioactivation. Specific inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-1&2, and aldo-keto reductase resulted in more than 80% inhibition rate in the DNA adduct formation, further confirmed by Macaca fascicularis hepatic S9 system. Our results suggested the detoxification of BaP primarily depends on cytochrome P450, while the bioactivation involves additional oxidoreductases.

An improved substrate cocktail for assessing direct inhibition and time-dependent inhibition of multiple cytochrome P450s.

AIM: The substrate cocktail is frequently used to evaluate cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme-mediated drug interactions and potential interactions among the probe substrates. Here, we re-optimized the substrate cocktail method to increase the reliability and accuracy of screening for candidate compounds and expanded the method from a direct CYP inhibition assay to a time-dependent inhibition (TDI) assay. METHODS: In the reaction mixtures containing human liver microsome (0.1 mg/mL), both the concentrations of a substrate cocktail (phenacetin for 1A2, coumarin for 2A6, bupropion for 2B6, diclofenac for 2C9, dextromethorphan for 2D6, and testosterone for 3A4) and the incubation time were optimized. Metabolites of the substrate probes were simultaneously analyzed by multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) using a routine LC/MS/MS. Direct CYP inhibition was validated using 7 inhibitors (α-naphthoflavone, tranylcypromine, ticlopidine, fluconazole, quinidine, ketoconazole and 1-ABT). The time-dependent inhibition was partially validated with 5 inhibitors (ketoconazole, verapamil, quinidine, paroxetine and 1-ABT). RESULTS: The inhibition curve profiles and IC50 values of 7 CYP inhibitors were approximate when a single substrate and the substrate cocktail were tested, and were consistent with the previously reported values. Similar results were obtained in the IC50 shifts of 5 inhibitors when a single substrate and the substrate cocktail were tested in the TDI assay. CONCLUSION: The 6-in-1 substrate cocktail (for 1A2, 2A6, 2B6, 2C9, 2D6 and 3A) is reliable for assessing CYP inhibition and time-dependent inhibition of drug candidates.