Purpose: Affibody molecules represent a novel class of high-affinity agents for radionuclide tumour targeting. Fusion of the Affibody molecules with an albumin-binding domain (ABD) enables modification of the blood kinetics of the Affibody molecules and reduction of the renal dose. (177)Lu-CHX-A''-DTPA-ABD-(Z(HER2:342))(2), an anti-HER2 Affibody molecule-ABD fusion protein has earlier demonstrated promising results in treatment of HER2-expressing micro-xenografts in mice. The use of the in vivo generator (114m)In/(114)In as a label for ABD-fused Affibody molecules would create preconditions for efficient treatment of both micrometastases (due to conversion and Auger electrons of (114m)In) and bulky tumours (due to high-energy beta particles from the daughter nuclide (114)In). The goal of this study was to investigate if different chelators influence the biodistribution of ABD-(Z(HER2:342))(2) and to find an optimal chelator for attachment of (114m)In to the Affibody molecule-ABD fusion protein.
Methods: Isothiocyanate derivatives of Bz-DOTA and CHX-A''-DTPA were coupled to ABD-(Z(HER2:342))(2). The cellular processing of both conjugates was studied in vitro. The influence of chelators on the biodistribution was investigated in mice using double isotope ((114m)In and (111)In) labelling.
Results: The apparent affinity of CHX-A''-DTPA-ABD-(Z(HER2:342))(2) and Bz-DOTA-ABD-(Z(HER2:342))(2) to the extracellular domain of HER2 was similar, 13.5 and 15.0 pM, respectively. It was found that both conjugates were internalized by SKOV-3 cells. The use of CHX-A''-DTPA provided better cellular retention of the radioactivity, better tumour accumulation of radioactivity and better tumour to organ dose ratios than Bz-DOTA-ABD-(Z(HER2:342))(2).
Conclusion: CHX-A''-DTPA is more suitable for (114m)In labelling of Affibody molecule-ABD fusion proteins for radionuclide therapy.