1. Development of a New Class of CXCR4-Targeting Radioligands Based on the Endogenous Antagonist EPI-X4 for Oncological Applications.
- Author
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Gaonkar RH, Schmidt YT, Mansi R, Almeida-Hernandez Y, Sanchez-Garcia E, Harms M, Münch J, and Fani M
- Subjects
- Humans, Tissue Distribution, Ligands, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon, Cell Line, Tumor, Receptors, CXCR4 metabolism, Radioisotopes chemistry, Positron-Emission Tomography methods
- Abstract
The peptide fragment of human serum albumin that was identified as an inhibitor of C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), termed EPI-X4, was investigated as a scaffold for the development of CXCR4-targeting radio-theragnostics. Derivatives of its truncated version JM#21 (ILRWSRKLPCVS) were conjugated to 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) and tested in Jurkat and Ghost-CXCR4 cells. Ligand- 1 , - 2 , - 5 , - 6 , - 7 , - 8 , and - 9 were selected for radiolabeling. Molecular modeling indicated that
177 Lu-DOTA incorporation C-terminally did not interfere with the CXCR4 binding. Lipophilicity, in vitro plasma stability, and cellular uptake hinted177 Lu- 7 as superior. In Jurkat xenografts, all radioligands showed >90% washout from the body within an hour, with the exception of177 Lu- 7 and177 Lu- 9 .177 Lu- 7 demonstrated best CXCR4-tumor targeting. Ex vivo biodistribution and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/positron emission tomography (PET)/CT imaging of177 Lu- 7 /68 Ga- 7 showed the same distribution profile for both radioligands, characterized by very low uptake in all nontargeted organs except the kidneys. The data support the feasibility of CXCR4-targeting with EPI-X4-based radioligands and designate ligand- 7 as a lead candidate for further optimization.- Published
- 2023
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