A modular strategy to prepare multivalent inhibitors of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)

Oncotarget. 2011 Dec;2(12):1244-53. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.415.

Abstract

We have developed a modular scaffold for preparing high-affinity, homo-multivalent inhibitors of the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) for imaging and therapy of prostate cancer (PCa). Our system contains a lysine-based (µ-, e-) dialkyne residue for incorporating a PSMA binding Lys-Glu urea motif exploiting click chemistry and a second lysine residue for subsequent modification with an imaging or therapeutic moiety. The utility of the multivalent scaffold was examined by synthesizing bivalent compounds 2 and 3 and comparing them with the monovalent analog 1. Determination of inhibition constants (Ki) revealed that bivalent 2 (0.2 nM) and 3 (0.08 nM) are significantly more potent (~ 5 fold and ~ 11 fold, respectively) inhibitors of PSMA than monovalent 1 (0.9 nM). A single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)-CT imaging study of [111In]3 demonstrated high and specific uptake in PSMA+ PC-3 PIP tumor until at least 48 h post-injection, with rapid clearance from non-target tissues, including kidney. A biodistribution study revealed that [111In]3 demonstrated 34.0 ± 7.5 percent injected dose per gram of tissue in PSMA+ tumor at 24 h post-injection and was capable of generating target-to-non-target ratios of ~ 379 in PSMA+ PC-3 PIP tumors vs. isogenic PSMA-negative PC3-flu tumors in vivo. The click chemistry approach affords a convenient strategy toward multivalent PSMA inhibitors of enhanced affinity and superior pharmacokinetics for imaging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antigens, Surface
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Click Chemistry
  • Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Humans
  • Isotope Labeling / methods
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Mice, SCID
  • Models, Molecular
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Radiopharmaceuticals / chemical synthesis*
  • Radiopharmaceuticals / pharmacokinetics
  • Tissue Distribution
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / methods*

Substances

  • Antigens, Surface
  • Radiopharmaceuticals
  • FOLH1 protein, human
  • Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II