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PET Center, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala; and Department of Pharmaceutics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| ABSTRACT |
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Key Words: PET bromodeoxyuridine DNA synthesis hydroxyurea cimetidine
| INTRODUCTION |
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Several attempts have been made to develop methods for the assessment of proliferation potential, which is a key element in oncology and bears a closer relationship to tumor malignancy. Early attempts in the PET field used 11C-thymidine, initially labeled in the methyl group and later with the label in the 2-position (610). Although a correlation has been found between tracer uptake and malignancy grade, a reasonable assumption is that the uptake reflects primarily the entry of thymidine into the cells through a nucleoside transporter and not necessarily the DNA synthesis. The half-life of 11C seems too short to allow observation of DNA incorporation.
The thymidine analog bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has been used extensively in immunohistochemical methods for the assessment of proliferation (11). The use of 77Br-bromodeoxyuridine, 123I-iododeoxyuridine, and 131I-iododeoxyuridine as tracers has been described (1218), but these tracers may be affected by factors such as fast elimination and rapid metabolism, leading to a short biologic half-life. Recent studies with an 18F-labeled thymidine analog have been encouraging (19).
76Br, a positron-emitting radionuclide with a half-life of 16 h, will allow an extended observation time (20), and studies in rats and pigs have suggested that 76Br-bromodeoxyuridine(76Br-BrdU) may allow a determination of proliferation potential in vivo using PET (21). A significant problem was found, however, when using this substance: a large fraction of the tissue radioactivity was constituted by 76Br-bromide. This 76Br-bromide is a metabolite of 76Br-BrdU and, soon after administration, dominates the radioactivity in plasma and in nonproliferating and slowly proliferating tissues. With forced diuresis, 76Br-bromide can to some extent be eliminated through the kidneys (22). Although such a method may facilitate the use of 76Br-BrdU as a PET tracer for DNA synthesis, the elimination of 76Br-bromide is far from complete and the use of diuresis makes the studies significantly more cumbersome for patients.
The metabolism of nucleosides is efficiently reduced by substituting a fluoride in the 2'-position of the deoxy-sugar (23). This substitution may lead to reduction of in vivo metabolism, formation of 76Br-bromide, and prolongation of the biologic half-life. We undertook our study so as to explore 5-(76Br)bromo-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (BFU) as a potential in vivo tracer for DNA synthesis.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Labeling
5-[76Br]bromo-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine was prepared from 5-trimethylstannyl-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine by an electrophilic substitution reaction using chloramine-T as an oxidizing agent (Fig. 1). The product was isolated in approximately 80% radiochemical yield and greater than 99% radiochemical purity within 45 min from the start of synthesis.
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The precursor 5-trimethylstannyl-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine was synthesized from 5-iodo-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine according to a published procedure (25,26).
To a solution of 5-trimethylstannyl-2'-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (12 mg) in 1% acetic acid in ethanol (140 µL) was added the [76Br]Br in ethanol (200 µL) followed by a chloramine-T solution in ethanol (2.2 mg/mL). The mixture was heated at 70°C for approximately 20 min, diluted with saline, and purified by preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on an Ultrasphere C-18 column (10 x 250 mm; Beckman Coulter, Inc., Fullerton, CA). Sterile saline with 5% ethanol and a gradient to 10% ethanol during 5 min was used as the mobile phase, and the flow rate was 7 mL/min. The fraction eluting with a retention time of approximately 9 min was collected and filtered to sterility. Radiochemical purity and identity were assessed using analytic HPLC with the addition of an authentic reference material. An Ultrasphere C-18 column (4.6 x 250 mm) with water:acetonitrile (95:5 to 92:8 gradient during 8 min) as the mobile phase and a flow rate of 2 mL/min was used. The retention time was approximately 8 min.
Chemicals
Hydroxyurea was purchased from Sigma Chemical Company (St. Louis, MO), and cimetidine (Acinil; A/S GEA, Fredriksburg, Denmark) was obtained from the Uppsala University hospital pharmacy. DNAzol reagent was obtained from Life Technologies Co. (Grand Island, NY).
Radioactivity Distribution
Forty rats were used. The rats were randomly assigned to 2 control groups and 2 treatment groups. Each group consisted of 10 rats. All rats were given a bolus injection of 76Br-BFU at a dose of 5 MBq through the tail vein. In the treatment group, the animals were given a dose of 200 mg hydroxyurea intravenously 30 min before injection of 76Br-BFU. At 6 and 16 h after the administration of radioactivity, the rats were killed after CO2 inhalation. One control group and 1 treated group were included at each time. The heart, lung, liver, kidney, spleen, and intestine were removed, and samples of blood were taken at the same time. The radioactivity of the samples was measured in a calibrated well counter, and their weight was recorded. The radioactivity concentration of the organs was presented as a standardized uptake value (SUV) [SUV = (radioactivity of the organ/weight of the organ)/(total given radioactivity/rat body weight)]. As a further standardization, the organ radioactivity concentration was given in relation to the whole-blood radioactivity concentration (ratio = SUV of the organ/SUV of the blood). The groups were compared statistically using the ANOVA program in StatView (SAS Institute, Cary, NC). Fisher's protected least significant difference test checked for significance at the 5% level.
DNA Separation
The samples were processed for DNA separation after the radioactivity of the organs had been measured. Two hundred milligrams tissue were taken from the spleen and small intestine, and to each sample were added 2.2 mL gnomic DNA isolation reagent. Homogenization using a Polytron homogenizer (Kinematica AG, Lucern, Switzerland) followed. After the homogenate had been centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 6 min, 1 mL supernatant was taken, and the radioactivity of the supernatant was measured and used to define the concentration of radioactivity in tissue. One-half milliliter 99.5% ethanol was added to the supernatant, and the sample was mixed by inversion and stored at room temperature for 3 min. When the band containing the DNA fraction was visible, the sample was centrifuged at 15,000 rpm and 4°C for 10 min to precipitate DNA. The pellet was washed once more with 0.5 mL 99.5% ethanol, the supernatant was removed, and renewed centrifugation for 5 min followed. The radioactivity of the pellet, representing the DNA fraction, was measured, and the DNA-incorporated radioactivity was calculated as the percentage of radioactivity in tissue ([radioactivity of pellet/radioactivity in tissue] x 100%).
Urinary Excretion of 76Br-BFU
In a few experiments, 2 groups with 6 rats in each were included. All animals were given 76Br-BFU at a dose of 5 MBq through the tail vein, and in the treatment group the animals were pretreated with 200 mg hydroxyurea, given intravenously 30 min before injection of 76Br-BFU. After injection of radioactivity, each animal was kept separately in a cage floored with tissue paper, in which the rat's urine was collected. The tissue paper was changed every hour until 6 h, and the radioactivity collected in the tissue paper was measured. The accumulated radioactivity in the urine was calculated as the percentage of the total radioactivity injected ([
radioactivity from tissue paper/total given radioactivity] x 100%).
Treatment with Cimetidine
In these experiments, the rats were divided into 4 groups, with each group including more than 8 animals. All rats in the 4 groups were given 5 MBq 76Br-BFU in the tail vein. In the 3 treated groups, the animals were given different doses of cimetidine (2, 6, or 20 mg/kg) at the same time as the radioactivity injection. Twenty-four hours later, the animals were killed after CO2 inhalation, and organ radioactivity and DNA fraction were determined as above. The radioactivity concentration of the organs was presented as SUV, and the DNA percentage was calculated.
HPLC Analysis of Urine
In untreated rats and in rats treated with cimetidine, the urine was collected until 2 h after administration of the tracer. The radioactivity content in the urine samples was analyzed using HPLC. An Ultrasphere C-18 column (4.6 x 250 mm) with water:acetonitrile (95:5 gradient to 92:8 during 8 min) as the mobile phase and a flow rate of 2 mL/min was used.
Whole-Body Autoradiography
Selected rats from the control group (16- and 24-h) and the group treated with 6 mg/kg cimetidine were studied by whole-body autoradiography. After the animals were killed, they were frozen in a mold and sectioned using a freezing microtome with a slice thickness of 50 µm. The slices were exposed on phosphor imaging plates for 60 h. Scanning and imaging were performed using ImageQuant software (Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA).
| RESULTS |
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Treatment with Cimetidine
In these experiments, the relative distribution of the tracer was similar to that shown for the control group in the 16-h experiment. The small intestine, closely followed by the spleen, had the highest concentration. However, the absolute magnitude of the SUVs was considerably higher than in untreated animals for all 3 treatment groups (Fig. 4). Analysis showed that, for the spleen and small intestine, more than 90% of radioactivity was incorporated into the DNA fraction in the treated and untreated groups.
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| DISCUSSION |
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The study presented in this article has revealed that 76Br-BFU, with a fluorine atom in the 2' position of 2'-deoxyribose in the 76Br-BrdU molecule, was much more stable than 76Br-BrdU. Only limited amounts of 76Br-bromide were produced. In the organ distribution experiments, the highest concentration of radioactivity was in organs with active DNA synthesis, such as the spleen and intestines. Pretreatment of animals with the DNA synthesis inhibitor hydroxyurea (27) reduced uptake in these organs markedlyto a level similar to that in organs with limited DNA synthesis, such as the heart, lungs, and liver. The experiments with DNA separation also showed that a dominant portion of tissue radioactivity was incorporated into DNA in the organs with active DNA synthesis. All our results suggest that 76Br-BFU is superior to 76Br-BrdU as a proliferation marker.
We did observe, however, that the SUV of 76Br-BFU was lower than that of 76Br-BrdU. The reason was the elimination of 70% of total given radioactivity as intact compound by the kidneys through urinary secretion within 6 h after 76Br-BFU injection. A dominant portion of this urinary excretion occurred within the first 3 h.
Some authors have suggested that cimetidine, an inhibitor of the organic cation secretory system, may inhibit the secretion of some nucleosides (2830). According to the pharmacokinetics of cimetidine, its effect after a single dose may remain for 23 h. This time should be sufficient for incorporation of radioactivity into DNA. After our rats received cimetidine, the spleen and small intestine showed a pronounced increase of SUV while retaining a very high proportion of the radioactivity incorporated into DNA. Simultaneously, the amount of radioactivity recovered in the urine decreased markedly. HPLC analysis of the urine also showed that, without cimetidine treatment, the urinary radioactivity was predominantly composed of intact 76Br-BFU and, with cimetidine treatment, the intact 76Br-BFU was markedly reduced, leaving some polar metabolites in the urine.
We observed a pronounced difference in ex vivo autoradiography (Fig. 6) with respect to imaging of the proliferating organs. Although the mucosa of the small intestine was visualized after giving only a tracer dose of 76Br-BFU, the uptake was low and the autoradiograph was unclear. In cimetidine-administered animals, on the other hand, strong uptake rendered excellent visualization of the organs with active DNA synthesis, such as the intestines, bones, skin, and spleen.
| CONCLUSION |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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For correspondence or reprints contact: Mats Bergström, PhD, PET Center, Uppsala University Hospital, 751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
| REFERENCES |
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