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Wang C, Liu H, Yang Y, Sun Q, Yin L, Yang L, Wang X, Zhao W, Wan Q, Liu G, Chen Y, Li Z, Wang L. Preliminary Study of Radionuclide-Labeled MerTK-Targeting PET Imaging Agents for the Diagnosis of Melanoma. J Med Chem 2024; 67:19813-19825. [PMID: 39484831 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c02156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2024]
Abstract
MerTK PET imaging holds potential as a promising approach for assessing tumor aggressiveness and monitoring treatment response. In this study, we synthesized a series of 18F- and 68Ga-labeled tracers derived from MerTK inhibitors for detection of MerTK expression. Among the synthesized agents, the dimeric compounds [68Ga]10 and [68Ga]12 demonstrated good in vivo and in vitro stability, high affinities to the MerTK receptor, and good MerTK-targeting specificity. Notably, [68Ga]10 exhibited a tumor uptake of 2.6 ± 0.2%ID/g at 1 h p. i. in B16F10 tumor-bearing mice, nearly tripling the uptake of its monomeric counterpart [68Ga]3. A similar enhancement was observed with [68Ga]12 compared to its monomeric analog [68Ga]6. Additionally, [18F]14 achieved a tumor uptake of 7.6 ± 0.5%ID/g at 2 h p. i., outperforming the previously reported [18F]15. Biodistribution analysis further validated the results, highlighting their potential for clinical investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changjiang Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Hao Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Yunyi Yang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Qinghong Sun
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Liping Yin
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Liping Yang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
- School of Pharmacy, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Xiaodong Wang
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Weiling Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Qiang Wan
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Guangfu Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
| | - Zibo Li
- Department of Radiology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, No. 25 Taiping St, Jiangyang District, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, China
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Xue L, Jie CVML, Desrayaud S, Auberson YP. Developing Low Molecular Weight PET and SPECT Imaging Agents. ChemMedChem 2024; 19:e202400094. [PMID: 38634545 DOI: 10.1002/cmdc.202400094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Imaging agents for positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) have shown their utility in many situations, answering clinical questions related to drug development and medical considerations. The discovery and development of imaging agents follow a well-understood process, with variations related to available starting points and to the envisaged imaging application. This article describes the general development path leading from the expression of an imaging need and project initiation to a clinically usable imaging agent. The definition of the project rationale, the design and optimization of early leads, and the assessment of the imaging potential of an imaging agent candidate are followed by preclinical and clinical development activities that differ from those required for therapeutic agents. These include radiolabeling with a positron emitter and first-in-human clinical studies, to rapidly evaluate the ability of a new imaging agent to address the questions it was designed to answer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lian Xue
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
| | - Caitlin V M L Jie
- ETH Zürich, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, Vladimir-Prelog Weg 1-5/10, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Sandrine Desrayaud
- Novartis Biomedical Research, In Vivo preclinical PK/ADME, Novartis campus, WSJ-352/6/73.01, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Yves P Auberson
- Novartis Biomedical Research, Global Discovery Chemistry, Novartis campus, WSJ-88.10.100, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
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3
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Li V, Binder MD, Kilpatrick TJ. The Tolerogenic Influence of Dexamethasone on Dendritic Cells Is Accompanied by the Induction of Efferocytosis, Promoted by MERTK. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15903. [PMID: 37958886 PMCID: PMC10650502 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Many treatments for autoimmune diseases, caused by the loss of immune self-tolerance, are broadly immunosuppressive. Dendritic cells (DCs) can be induced to develop anti-inflammatory/tolerogenic properties to suppress aberrant self-directed immunity by promoting immune tolerance in an antigen-specific manner. Dexamethasone can generate tolerogenic DCs and upregulates MERTK expression. As MERTK can inhibit inflammation, we investigated whether dexamethasone's tolerogenic effects are mediated via MERTK, potentially providing a novel therapeutic approach. Monocyte-derived DCs were treated with dexamethasone, and with and without MERTK ligands or MERTK inhibitors. Flow cytometry was used to assess effects of MERTK modulation on co-stimulatory molecule expression, efferocytosis, cytokine secretion and T cell proliferation. The influence on expression of Rab17, which coordinates the diversion of efferocytosed material away from cell surface presentation, was assessed. Dexamethasone-treated DCs had upregulated MERTK expression, decreased expression of co-stimulatory molecules, maturation and proliferation of co-cultured T cells and increased uptake of myelin debris. MERTK ligands did not potentiate these properties, whilst specific MERTK inhibition only reversed dexamethasone's effect on myelin uptake. Cells undergoing efferocytosis had higher Rab17 expression. Dexamethasone-enhanced efferocytosis in DCs is MERTK-dependent and could exert its tolerogenic effects by increasing Rab17 expression to prevent the presentation of efferocytosed material on the cell surface to activate adaptive immune responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivien Li
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; (M.D.B.); (T.J.K.)
| | - Michele D. Binder
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; (M.D.B.); (T.J.K.)
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
| | - Trevor J. Kilpatrick
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; (M.D.B.); (T.J.K.)
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Lynch DG, Narayan RK, Li C. Multi-Mechanistic Approaches to the Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury: A Review. J Clin Med 2023; 12:jcm12062179. [PMID: 36983181 PMCID: PMC10052098 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12062179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Despite extensive research efforts, the majority of trialed monotherapies to date have failed to demonstrate significant benefit. It has been suggested that this is due to the complex pathophysiology of TBI, which may possibly be addressed by a combination of therapeutic interventions. In this article, we have reviewed combinations of different pharmacologic treatments, combinations of non-pharmacologic interventions, and combined pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions for TBI. Both preclinical and clinical studies have been included. While promising results have been found in animal models, clinical trials of combination therapies have not yet shown clear benefit. This may possibly be due to their application without consideration of the evolving pathophysiology of TBI. Improvements of this paradigm may come from novel interventions guided by multimodal neuromonitoring and multimodal imaging techniques, as well as the application of multi-targeted non-pharmacologic and endogenous therapies. There also needs to be a greater representation of female subjects in preclinical and clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel G. Lynch
- Translational Brain Research Laboratory, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA
| | - Raj K. Narayan
- Translational Brain Research Laboratory, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, NY 11576, USA
| | - Chunyan Li
- Translational Brain Research Laboratory, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA
- Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health, Hempstead, NY 11549, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Northwell Health, Manhasset, NY 11030, USA
- Correspondence:
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Lambo DJ, Lebedenko CG, McCallum PA, Banerjee IA. Molecular dynamics, MMGBSA, and docking studies of natural products conjugated to tumor-targeted peptide for targeting BRAF V600E and MERTK receptors. Mol Divers 2023; 27:389-423. [PMID: 35505173 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-022-10430-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have revealed that MERTK and BRAF V600E receptors have been found to be over-expressed in several types of cancers including melanoma, making these receptors targets for drug design. In this study, we have designed novel peptide conjugates with the natural products vanillic acid, thiazole-2-carboxylic acid, cinnamic acid, theanine, and protocatechuic acid. Each of these compounds was conjugated with the tumor targeting peptide sequence TAASGVRSMH, known to bind to NG2 and target tumor neovasculature. We examined their binding affinities and stability with MERTK and BRAF V600E receptors using molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies. Compared to the neat compounds, the peptide conjugates displayed higher binding affinity toward both receptors. In the case of MERTK, the most stable complexes were formed with di-theaninate-peptide, vanillate-peptide, and thiazole-2-amido peptide conjugates and binding occurred in the hinge region. Additionally, it was discovered that the peptide alone also had high binding ability and stability with the MERTK receptor. In the case of BRAF V600E, the peptide conjugates of protocatechuate, vanillate and thiazole-2-amido peptide conjugates showed the formation of the most stable complexes and binding occurred in the ATP binding cleft. Further analysis revealed that the number of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions played a critical role in enhanced stability of the complexes. Docking studies also revealed that binding affinities for NG2 were similar to MERTK and higher for BRAF V600E. MMGBSA studies of the trajectories revealed that the protocatechuate-peptide conjugate showed the highest binding energy with BRAF V600E while the peptide-TAASGVRSMH showed the highest binding energy with MERTK. ADME studies revealed that each of the compounds showed medium to high permeability toward MDCK cells and were not hERG blockers. Furthermore, the conjugates were not CYP inhibitors or substrates, but they were found to be Pgp substrates. Our results indicated that the protocatechuate-TAASGVRSMH, thiazole-2-amido-TAASGVRSMH, and vanillate-TAASGVRSMH conjugates may be furthered developed for in vitro and in vivo studies as novel tumor targeting compounds for tumor cells over-expressing BRAF V600E, while di-theaninate-amido-TAASGVRSMH and thiazole-2-amido-TAASGVRSMH conjugates may be developed for targeting MERTK receptors. These studies provide insight into the molecular interactions of natural product-peptide conjugates and their potential for binding to and targeting MERTK and BRAF V600E receptors in developing new therapeutics for targeting cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic J Lambo
- Department of Chemistry, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
| | - Charlotta G Lebedenko
- Department of Chemistry, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
| | - Paige A McCallum
- Department of Chemistry, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
| | - Ipsita A Banerjee
- Department of Chemistry, Fordham University, 441 E. Fordham Rd, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA.
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Wang L, Zhou Y, Wu X, Ma X, Li B, Ding R, Stashko MA, Wu Z, Wang X, Li Z. The Synthesis and Initial Evaluation of MerTK Targeted PET Agents. Molecules 2022; 27:1460. [PMID: 35268561 PMCID: PMC8911752 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27051460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
MerTK (Mer tyrosine kinase), a receptor tyrosine kinase, is ectopically or aberrantly expressed in numerous human hematologic and solid malignancies. Although a variety of MerTK targeting therapies are being developed to enhance outcomes for patients with various cancers, the sensitivity of tumors to MerTK suppression may not be uniform due to the heterogeneity of solid tumors and different tumor stages. In this report, we develop a series of radiolabeled agents as potential MerTK PET (positron emission tomography) agents. In our initial in vivo evaluation, [18F]-MerTK-6 showed prominent uptake rate (4.79 ± 0.24%ID/g) in B16F10 tumor-bearing mice. The tumor to muscle ratio reached 1.86 and 3.09 at 0.5 and 2 h post-injection, respectively. In summary, [18F]-MerTK-6 is a promising PET agent for MerTK imaging and is worth further evaluation in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Wang
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA; (L.W.); (X.W.); (X.M.); (Z.L.)
| | - Yubai Zhou
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (Y.Z.); (B.L.); (R.D.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Xuedan Wu
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA; (L.W.); (X.W.); (X.M.); (Z.L.)
| | - Xinrui Ma
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA; (L.W.); (X.W.); (X.M.); (Z.L.)
| | - Bing Li
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (Y.Z.); (B.L.); (R.D.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Ransheng Ding
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (Y.Z.); (B.L.); (R.D.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Michael A. Stashko
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (Y.Z.); (B.L.); (R.D.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Zhanhong Wu
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA; (L.W.); (X.W.); (X.M.); (Z.L.)
| | - Xiaodong Wang
- Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (Y.Z.); (B.L.); (R.D.); (M.A.S.)
| | - Zibo Li
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA; (L.W.); (X.W.); (X.M.); (Z.L.)
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