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Basic Science Investigations |
1 Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2 Department of Experimental Urology, University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
3 Immunomedics, Inc., Morris Plains, New Jersey
| ABSTRACT |
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Key Words: pretargeting strategy bispecific antibody G250xDTIn-1 G250 antigen renal cell carcinoma
| INTRODUCTION |
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In 1986, Goodwin et al. (4) were the first to propose the separation of the administration of the long-circulating antitumor mAb from the radiolabel. In this so-called pretargeting strategy, tumor cells are pretargeted with a nonlabeled bispecific antibody (bs-mAb) followed by a fast-clearing radiolabeled hapten. We have developed a pretargeting strategy using a biologically produced bs-mAb with a high affinity for the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) TAA (G250 antigen) and for indium-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) (bs-mAb: G250xDTIn-1) for targeting of RCC (5). In a nude mouse RCC model with this system, high uptake (80 %ID/g [percentage injected dose per gram]) and good retention of the radiolabel in the tumor were observed when an 111In-labeled bivalent peptide was used (6).
Using the pretargeting strategy in the NU-12 mouse tumor model, the uptake of the radiolabel was exceptionally high compared with other pretargeting strategies (710), possibly due to unique characteristics of the NU-12 tumor.
Here we studied bs-mAb G250xDTIn-1based pretargeting in 3 different RCC nude mouse models to determine whether this strategy would allow efficient targeting of other G250 antigenexpressing tumors. In addition, several tumor characteristicssuch as G250 antigen density, vascular characteristics, internalization, and processing of the antibodywere determined to gain more insight into the features that may affect the targeting of RCC using a pretargeting system.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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bs-mAb
The characteristics of mAb anti-G250 (IgG1), directed against the RCC-associated antigen G250, identified as carbonic anhydrase isoform IX (MN/CA IX), have been described elsewhere (13). The CA IX antigen is expressed on the cell surface of virtually all clear-cell RCCs (14).
The characteristics of mAb anti-DTPA-In (DTIn-1, IgG2a) have been described elsewhere (5,14). The isolation of bs-mAbproducing quadroma cells and the characterization and purification of bs-mAb anti-RCC x anti-DTPA(In) (bs-mAb: G250xDTIn-1) have been described in detail previously (5).
Bivalent Peptide
IMP156.
The
-amino groups of both lysine residues of this tetrapeptide (Phe-Lys-Tyr-Lys) were conjugated with mono-activated DTPA to obtain a bivalent peptide as described previously (6,15). The N-terminus of the peptide was acetylated and the C-terminus was amidated to reduce degradation by exopeptidases. The peptide, Ac-Phe-Lys(DTPA)-Tyr-Lys(DTPA)-NH2 (diDTPA-FKYK; molecular weight 1,377 Da), was prepared by solid-phase synthesis and formulated in a lyophilized labeling kit, containing 11 µg diDTPA-FKYK, 50 mg 2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin, and 4.4 mg citrate (pH 4.2).
Radiolabeling
111In-diDTPA-FKYK.
Eleven micrograms of lyophilized diDTPA-FKYK (IMP156) were reconstituted in 1 mL saline. To 15 µL of the peptide solution, 15 µL 40 mmol/L HCl, 375 µL H2O, and 55.5 MBq (1.5 mCi) 111InCl3 (Tyco Health Care) were added. The reaction mixture was incubated for 60 min at room temperature. The radiochemical purity (RCP) was determined by instant thin-layer chromatography (ITLC) on silica gel strips with methanol:water (55:45) and 0.15 mol/L citrate buffer (pH 6.0) as the mobile phase. When the RCP exceeded 95%, a 3-fold molar excess of InCl3 was added to saturate the remaining DTPA moieties with stable In3+.
cG250-DTPA-111In.
Conjugation of mAb with p-isothiocyanatobenzyl-DTPA (ITC-DTPA) was performed essentially as described by Ruegg et al. (16). Briefly, 1 mL mAb cG250 (10 mg/mL) was mixed with 110 µL of 1.0 mol/L NaHCO3 (pH 9.5) and 1.76 mg ITC-DTPA (50-fold molar excess). After incubation at room temperature for 1 h, the reaction mixture was dialyzed in a Slide-A-Lyzer (10-kDa cutoff; Pierce) overnight against phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Subsequently, the cG250-ITC-DTPA conjugate was diluted in PBS to 1 mg/mL and aliquots were stored at 20°C.
Radiolabeling of cG250-ITC-DTPA.
Eight microliters 50 mmol/L NH4Ac, pH 5.4, and 7.4 MBq (200 µCi) 111InCl3 were added to 30 µL (1 mg/mL) cG250-ITC-DTPA and incubated at room temperature for 1 h. The RCP of the mAb was determined by ITLC on silica gel strips with 0.15 mol/L citrate buffer (pH 6.0) as the mobile phase.
125I-cG250.
Iodination of the mAb was performed according to the IODO-GEN method (17). To a tube coated with 25 µg of IODO-GEN, 5 µL of 0.5 mol/L phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), 15 µL of 50 mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), 26 µL cG250 (0.5 mg/mL), and 7.4 MBq (200 µCi) 125I (Amersham Cygne) were added. The mixture was incubated for 10 min at room temperature and immediately followed by a purification step on a PD-10 column eluted with PBS and 0.5% bovine serum albumin (BSA). The RCP of the mAb was determined by ITLC on silica gel strips with 0.15 mol/L citrate buffer (pH 6.0) as the mobile phase.
Quantitative Determination of Antigen Expression
The G250 antigen density on the tumor cell surface was determined in an in vitro saturation assay, essentially as described by van Oosterhout et al. (18) with minor modifications. Briefly, tumor cells were incubated with various concentrations of 125I-cG250 (1.75,000 ng/100 µL mAb). After 4-h incubation at 4°C (to minimize internalization), cells were washed twice and the cell-bound fraction was determined in each vial using a
-counter (Wallac Wizard 3'' 1480 automatic
-counter).
Vascular Characteristics of Tumors
The relative vascular density of the tumors was determined immunohistochemically by staining the endothelial cells using a rat mAb specifically directed against murine endothelial cells: mAb 9F1 (19). Frozen sections (4 µm) of the tumors were air dried and fixed in cold acetone (20°C) for 10 min. Subsequently, slides were rinsed with PBS and incubated for 1 h at room temperature with mAb 9F1 (1:50) in PBS and 0.1% BSA. Slides were rinsed with PBS, incubated with peroxidase-labeled goat anti-rat IgG (1:100) (G
Ra-PO; Sigma-Aldrich), washed (PBS), and developed with 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) and 0.01% H2O2 (Sigma). Finally, the sections were counterstained with hematoxylin and mounted.
The vascular volume and vascular permeability of xenografted NU-12, SK-RC-1, and SK-RC-52 tumors were determined as described (20,21). Briefly, to determine the vascular volume of the tumors, the erythrocytes of the mice were labeled in vivo with 99mTc: Tumor-bearing mice were injected intravenously with 0.8 µg stannous pyrophosphate 30 min before the administration of 555 kBq (15 µCi) 99mTcO4. To determine the vascular permeability of the tumors, the tumor-bearing mice were injected intravenously with 3 µg 125I-labeled MOP-C21 (an irrelevant mAb; 1 µCi/µg) simultaneously with the administration of 99mTcO4. One hour after administration of the radioactivity, mice were killed by CO2 asphyxiation, and the radioactive concentrations of 99mTc and 125I in the blood and in the tumors were determined (vascular volume expressed as µL blood/g tumor; vascular permeability expressed as µL plasma/h/g tumor).
Murine RCC Tumor Models
Athymic female BALB/c nu/nu mice (6- to 8-wk old) were subcutaneously xenografted with 1 of the 3 RCC tumors (SK-RC-52: 1.5 x 106 cells per 200 µL; SK-RC-1: 2 x 106 cells per 200 µL; and NU-12: by serial subcutaneous transplantation). Two to 4 wk later, when the tumors were palpable (tumor size, 50300 mg), mice were used in the biodistribution studies and determination of the vascular volume and permeability or tumors were dissected for the determination of G250 antigen expression.
Determination of G250 Antigen Expression by Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) Analysis
Tumors were cut into small pieces, incubated overnight with collagenase, DNAse, and hyaluronidase RPMI + penicillin/streptomycin solution (Gibco). Subsequently, a cell suspension was produced using a cell strainer (70 µm; Falcon). Erythrocytes were lysed by a hypotonic shock in lysis buffer (0.8% NH4Cl, 0.1% KHCO3, and 3.7% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) for 10 min at 37°C.
Relative G250 antigen expression on human cells was determined by FACS analysis: human tumor cell suspensions were stained with
-CAR mAb (mouse anti-CoxsackieAdenovirus Receptor; Upstate Biotechnology) (SK-RC-52) or with
-HLA-1 mAb (mouse anti-Human-Leukocyte-Associated 1; DAKO) (SK-RC-1). Cells were also stained with cG250 mAb (Centocor). G
M-PE (goat anti-mouse IgG/phycoerythrin; Southern Biotechnology Associates, Inc.) and G
Hu-FITC (goat anti-human IgG/fluorescence isothiocyanate; DAKO) were used as conjugates. Cells were selected for CAR or HLA-1 expression and G250 antigen expression, and the fraction of the G250 antigenpositive cells was determined. The FACS analysis of cultured cells was performed similarly.
Biodistribution Studies
For the pretargeting experiments, animals were injected intravenously with 0.1 nmol (15 µg) bs-mAb G250xDTIn-1. Three days later, 4 pmol (6 ng) of the 111In-labeled peptide were administered. All reagents were injected intravenously via the tail vein (200 µL). At various time points after the injection of the radiolabeled peptide, mice were killed by CO2 asphyxiation. Blood was obtained by heart puncture. Tissues (tumor, muscle, lung, spleen, kidney, liver, and small intestine) were dissected and weighed, and their radioactivity content was determined in a
-counter. To permit calculation of the radioactive uptake in each organ as a fraction of the injected dose, an aliquot of the injection dose was counted simultaneously. Results are expressed as % ID/g. All groups consisted of 4 or 5 mice. The biodistribution of 125I- and 111In-cG250 was determined in the 3 nude mouse tumor models. Mice were injected intravenously with 25 pmol (3.75 µg) mAb cG250 and, 72 h later, mice were killed and the biodistribution of the radiolabel was determined.
The studies were approved by the local Animal Welfare Committee and performed in accordance with their guidelines.
Statistical Analysis
All mean values are given ± SD. Statistical analysis was performed using the unpaired t test when 2 groups were analyzed, and the 1-way ANOVA was used when >2 groups were analyzed. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05.
| RESULTS |
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The vascular volume of the tested RCC models was in the same order of magnitude and at least twice as high as compared with the vascular volume of the 2 tested colon carcinoma models (Table 2). The vascular permeability of the RCC models was significantly different: SK-RC-1 tumor had a 3-fold higher vascular permeability compared with the SK-RC-52 tumor (159 ± 24 vs. 53.0 ± 5.0 µL plasma/h/g tumor, respectively). The vascular permeability of NU-12 and SK-RC-52 was in the same range (vascular permeability: NU-12, 63.1 ± 15.7 µL plasma/h/g tumor).
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| DISCUSSION |
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To exclude that this paradox was caused by a difference of antigen expression levels between in vitro cultured cells and in vivo growing cells (22), the in vitro and in vivo grown cells were analyzed with a FACS. To discriminate between human and murine cells in the tumors, FACS analysis was performed by double-fluorescence FACS staining. Less than 60% of the xenografted SK-RC-52 tumors were of human origin, whereas 75% of the SK-RC-1 tumors were tumor cells. These results contributed only partially to the paradoxical findings between tumor targeting and G250 antigen expression. FACS analyses indicated that for each cell line the MFI index (a measure of relative G250 antigen expression) of cells isolated from the subcutaneous growing tumor was lower than that of the in vitro cultured cells. However, the relative expression of the G250 antigen in the subcutaneous growing SK-RC-52 tumor cells was higher than that of the subcutaneous growing SK-RC-1 tumor cells.
Targeting of the tumor with the radiolabeled peptide was specific when performed with bs-mAb G250xDTIn-1. No specific tumor targeting of the radiolabeled bivalent peptide was observed using the bs-mAb MN14xDTIn-1.
It has been recognized that many physiologic characteristics of the tumor can affect mAb targeting (for example, vascular volume and permeability, blood flow, stromal components and the presence or absence of necrosis). As shown in Figure 2, immunohistochemical analysis indicated that the vessel density of SK-RC-52 and NU-12 tumors was in the same range, whereas SK-RC-1 tumors with the lowest G250 antigen expression had a higher vessel density, suggesting that the differences in tumor vascularization might explain the tumor-targeting differences. Further analysis of the vascular characteristics indicated that the vascular volumes of NU-12, SK-RC-1, and SK-RC-52 were in the same range (33.7 ± 5.9, 20.8 ± 4.1, and 21.2 ± 3.8 µL blood/g tumor, respectively), indicating that the variation in tumor uptake could not be attributed to the differences in vascular volume. The vascular permeability of the SK-RC-1 tumors was 3-fold higher than that of the SK-RC-52 and NU-12 tumors (159 ± 24 vs. 53 ± 5 and 63 ± 16 µL plasma/h/g tumor, respectively). This finding suggests that relatively efficient targeting of SK-RC-1 with the pretargeting system might be due to the enhanced vascular permeability. Other physiologic characteristics of the tumors, such as the interstitial fluid pressure, could also contribute to mAb targeting by limiting the penetration of mAbs into the tumor tissue (23,24). The lack of correlation between the G250 antigen expression and the tumor-targeting efficiency in the tested tumor models was also found with directly 125I-/111In-labeled cG250 mAb. Targeting of SK-RC-1 RCC with directly labeled cG250 exceeded targeting of NU-12 RCC, whereas SK-RC-52 RCC showed a relatively low uptake. In general, 125I-cG250 uptake was lower than 111In-cG250 uptake, suggesting internalization and, subsequently, degradation of the labeled mAb. It appeared that internalization and subsequently metabolization did play a minor role in the NU-12 tumor model.
The kinetics of the targeted radiolabel in the examined tumor models varied considerably: SK-RC-1 and SK-RC-52 showed a distinct washout of the 111In-labeled peptide from the tumor with time, whereas the 111In label was retained in NU-12 tumors with time. The washout of the radiolabel (Fig. 3) suggests that the binding of the 111In-labeled peptide to the tumor cell surface via a bs-mAb in SK-RC-1 and SK-RC-52 renal cell tumors might be reversible. This could be due to a monovalent binding of the bivalent peptide to the cell surface, instead of the more-avid bivalent binding. This delicate balance, to obtain bivalent binding, most likely depends on the G250 antigen density, the amount of bs-mAb G250xDTIn-1, the amount of 111In-diDTPA, and the internalization rate of the bs-mAb at the tumor cell surface.
These studies show that excellent tumor targeting via bs-mAb G250xDTIn-1 can be achieved in G250 antigenexpressing tumor models. Clinical studies with this pretargeting approach in RCC patients are warranted. Pretargeting would allow rapid imaging, early after injection of the radiolabel, and, for therapeutic applications, a higher radiation dose can be guided to the tumor using the pretargeting strategy.
| CONCLUSION |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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For correspondence or reprints contact: Frank G. van Schaijk, MSc, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
E-mail: F.vanSchaijk{at}nucmed.umcn.nl
| REFERENCES |
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