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Chan AM, Olafsen T, Tsui J, Salazar FB, Aguirre B, Zettlitz KA, Condro M, Wu AM, Braun J, Gordon LK, Ashki N, Whitelegge J, Xu S, Ikotun O, Lee JT, Wadehra M. 89Zr-ImmunoPET for the Specific Detection of EMP2-Positive Tumors. Mol Cancer Ther 2024; 23:890-903. [PMID: 38417138 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/01/2024]
Abstract
Epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) is upregulated in a number of tumors and therefore remains a promising target for mAb-based therapy. In the current study, image-guided therapy for an anti-EMP2 mAb was evaluated by PET in both syngeneic and immunodeficient cancer models expressing different levels of EMP2 to enable a better understanding of its tumor uptake and off target accumulation and clearance. The therapeutic efficacy of the anti-EMP2 mAb was initially evaluated in high- and low-expressing tumors, and the mAb reduced tumor load for the high EMP2-expressing 4T1 and HEC-1-A tumors. To create an imaging agent, the anti-EMP2 mAb was conjugated to p-SCN-Bn-deferoxamine (DFO) and radiolabeled with 89Zr. Tumor targeting and tissue biodistribution were evaluated in syngeneic tumor models (4T1, CT26, and Panc02) and human tumor xenograft models (Ramos, HEC-1-A, and U87MG/EMP2). PET imaging revealed radioactive accumulation in EMP2-positive tumors within 24 hours after injection, and the signal was retained for 5 days. High specific uptake was observed in tumors with high EMP2 expression (4T1, CT26, HEC-1-A, and U87MG/EMP2), with less accumulation in tumors with low EMP2 expression (Panc02 and Ramos). Biodistribution at 5 days after injection revealed that the tumor uptake ranged from 2 to approximately 16%ID/cc. The results show that anti-EMP2 mAbs exhibit EMP2-dependent tumor uptake with low off-target accumulation in preclinical cancer models. The development of improved anti-EMP2 Ab fragments may be useful to track EMP2-positive tumors for subsequent therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann M Chan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Tove Olafsen
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Small Animal Imaging Core, Shared Resources, City of Hope, Duarte, California
| | - Jessica Tsui
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Felix B Salazar
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Immunology and Theranostics, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, California
| | - Brian Aguirre
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Kirstin A Zettlitz
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Immunology and Theranostics, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, California
| | - Michael Condro
- Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior/Neuropsychiatric Institute, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Anna M Wu
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Immunology and Theranostics, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, California
| | - Jonathan Braun
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Lynn K Gordon
- Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Negin Ashki
- Jules Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Julian Whitelegge
- Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior/Neuropsychiatric Institute, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Shili Xu
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Oluwatayo Ikotun
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jason Thanh Lee
- Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Madhuri Wadehra
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California
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Kahts M, Guo H, Kommidi H, Yang Y, Sayman HB, Summers B, Ting R, Zeevaart JR, Sathekge M, Aras O. 89Zr-leukocyte labelling for cell trafficking: in vitro and preclinical investigations. EJNMMI Radiopharm Chem 2023; 8:36. [PMID: 37930454 PMCID: PMC10628102 DOI: 10.1186/s41181-023-00223-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The non-invasive imaging of leukocyte trafficking to assess inflammatory areas and monitor immunotherapy is currently generating great interest. There is a need to develop more robust cell labelling and imaging approaches to track living cells. Positron emission tomography (PET), a highly sensitive molecular imaging technique, allows precise signals to be produced from radiolabelled moieties. Here, we developed a novel leukocyte labelling approach with the PET radioisotope zirconium-89 (89Zr, half-life of 78.4 h). Experiments were carried out using human leukocytes, freshly isolated from whole human blood. RESULTS The 89Zr-leukocyte labelling efficiency ranged from 46 to 87% after 30-60 min. Radioactivity concentrations of labelled cells were up to 0.28 MBq/1 million cells. Systemically administered 89Zr-labelled leukocytes produced high-contrast murine PET images at 1 h-5 days post injection. Murine biodistribution data showed that cells primarily distributed to the lung, liver, and spleen at 1 h post injection, and are then gradually trafficked to liver and spleen over 5 days. Histological analysis demonstrated that exogenously 89Zr-labelled human leukocytes were present in the lung, liver, and spleen at 1 h post injection. However, intravenously injected free [89Zr]Zr4+ ion showed retention only in the bone with no radioactivity in the lung at 5 days post injection, which implied good stability of radiolabelled leukocytes in vivo. CONCLUSIONS Our study presents a stable and generic radiolabelling technique to track leukocytes with PET imaging and shows great potential for further applications in inflammatory cell and other types of cell trafficking studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryke Kahts
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, 0208, South Africa.
| | - Hua Guo
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Innovations Institute (MI3), Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100021, China
| | - Harikrishna Kommidi
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Innovations Institute (MI3), Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Yanping Yang
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Innovations Institute (MI3), Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Haluk Burcak Sayman
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, 34303, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Beverley Summers
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, 0208, South Africa
| | - Richard Ting
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Innovations Institute (MI3), Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Jan Rijn Zeevaart
- Radiochemistry, The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Pelindaba, Hartebeespoort, 0240, South Africa
- Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
- DST/NWU, Preclinical Drug Development Platform, North West University, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa
| | - Mike Sathekge
- Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Omer Aras
- Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
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O'Hara MJ, Carter JC, Kellogg CM, Link JM. Anion exchange and extraction chromatography tandem column isolation of zirconium-89 ( 89Zr) from cyclotron bombarded targets using an automated fluidic platform. J Chromatogr A 2022; 1678:463347. [PMID: 35908511 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2022.463347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The long-lived positron emitter 89Zr is a highly promising nuclide employed in diagnostic Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. Methods of radiochemical processing to obtain 89Zr for clinical use are traditionally performed with a single hydroxamate resin column. Herein, we present a tandem column purification method for the preparation of high-purity 89Zr from cyclotron bombarded natural Y metal foils. The primary column is a macroporous, strongly basic anion exchange resin on styrene divinylbenzene co-polymer. The secondary microcolumn, with an internal volume of 33 μL, is packed with an extraction chromatography resin (ExCR) loaded with di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP). A condition of "inverted selectivity" is presented, wherein the 89Zr elution from the primary column is synonymous with the load condition on the secondary column. The ability to transfer 89Zr from one column to the next allows two sequential purification steps to be performed prior to the final elution of the 89Zr product. This approach assures delivery of high purity 89Zr. The tandem column purification process has been implemented into a prototype automated fluidic system. Optimization of the method is presented, followed by evaluation of the process using seven cyclotron bombarded Y metal foil targets. Once optimized, we found that 93.7 ± 2.3% of the 89Zr present in the foils was recovered in the secondary column elution fraction (0.8 M oxalic acid). Radiochromatograms of the product elution peaks enabled determination of full width at half-maximum (FWHM) and 89Zr collection yields as a function of volume. Because of the small size of the secondary microcolumn, a 89Zr product volume of ∼0.28 mL is reported, which provides a substantially increased nuclide concentration over traditional methods. Finally, we evaluated the transchelation of the resulting 89Zr oxalate product to deferoxamine mesylate (DFOM) salt. We observed effective specific activities (ESA) and bindable metals concentrations ([MB]) that exceed those reported by the traditional single hydroxamate column method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J O'Hara
- Nuclear Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd., PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, United States.
| | - Jennifer C Carter
- Nuclear Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd., PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, United States
| | - Cynthia M Kellogg
- Nuclear Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Blvd., PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, United States
| | - Jeanne M Link
- Center for Radiochemistry Research, Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97239, United States
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