Influence of the N-Terminal Composition on Targeting Properties of Radiometal-Labeled Anti-HER2 Scaffold Protein ADAPT6

Bioconjug Chem. 2016 Nov 16;27(11):2678-2688. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.6b00465. Epub 2016 Oct 27.

Abstract

Radionuclide-imaging-based stratification of patients to targeted therapies makes cancer treatment more personalized and therefore more efficient. Albumin-binding domain derived affinity proteins (ADAPTs) constitute a novel group of imaging probes based on the scaffold of an albumin-binding domain (ABD). To evaluate how different compositions of the N-terminal sequence of ADAPTs influence their biodistribution, a series of human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2)-binding ADAPT6 derivatives with different N-terminal sequences were created: GCH6DANS (2), GC(HE)3DANS (3), GCDEAVDANS (4), and GCVDANS(5). These were compared with the parental variant: GCSS(HE)3DEAVDANS (1). All variants were site-specifically conjugated with a maleimido-derivative of a DOTA chelator and labeled with 111In. Binding to HER2-expressing cells in vitro, in vivo biodistribution as well as targeting properties of the new variants were compared with properties of the 111In-labeled parental ADAPT variant 1 (111In-DOTA-1). The composition of the N-terminal sequence had an apparent influence on biodistribution of ADAPT6 in mice. The use of a hexahistidine tag in 111In-DOTA-2 was associated with elevated hepatic uptake compared to the (HE)3-containing counterpart, 111In-DOTA-3. All new variants without a hexahistidine tag demonstrated lower uptake in blood, lung, spleen, and muscle compared to uptake in the parental variant. The best new variants, 111In-DOTA-3 and 111In-DOTA-5, provided tumor uptakes of 14.6 ± 2.4 and 12.5 ± 1.3% ID/g at 4 h after injection, respectively. The tumor uptake of 111In-DOTA-3 was significantly higher than the uptake of the parental 111In-DOTA-1 (9.1 ± 2.0% ID/g). The tumor-to-blood ratios of 395 ± 75 and 419 ± 91 at 4 h after injection were obtained for 111In-DOTA-5 and 111In-DOTA-3, respectively. In conclusion, the N-terminal sequence composition affects the biodistribution and targeting properties of ADAPT-based imaging probes, and its optimization may improve imaging contrast.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Bacterial Proteins / pharmacokinetics
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Transformation, Neoplastic
  • Female
  • Heterocyclic Compounds, 1-Ring / chemistry
  • Humans
  • Indium Radioisotopes*
  • Isotope Labeling
  • Mice
  • Molecular Imaging
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Ovarian Neoplasms / pathology
  • Protein Engineering
  • Protein Stability
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Receptor, ErbB-2 / metabolism*
  • Temperature
  • Tissue Distribution

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Heterocyclic Compounds, 1-Ring
  • IgG Fc-binding protein, Streptococcus
  • Indium Radioisotopes
  • 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane- 1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid
  • ERBB2 protein, human
  • Receptor, ErbB-2