Investigating CXCR4 expression of tumor cells and the vascular compartment: A multimodal approach
File(s)journal.pone.0260186.pdf (2 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is G protein-coupled receptor that upon binding to its cognate ligand, can lead to tumor progression. Several CXCR4-targeted therapies are currently under investigation, and with it comes the need for imaging agents capable of accurate depiction of CXCR4 for therapeutic stratification and monitoring. PET agents enjoy the most success, but more cost-effective and radiation-free approaches such as ultrasound (US) imaging could represent an attractive alternative. In this work, we developed a targeted microbubble (MB) for imaging of vascular CXCR4 expression in cancer. A CXCR4-targeted MB was developed through incorporation of the T140 peptide into the MB shell. Binding properties of the T140-MB and control, non-targeted MB (NT-MB) were evaluated in MDA-MB-231 cells where CXCR4 expression was knocked-down (via shRNA) through optical imaging, and in the lymphoma tumor models U2932 and SuDHL8 (high and low CXCR4 expression, respectively) by US imaging. PET imaging of [18F]MCFB, a tumor-penetrating CXCR4-targeted small molecule, was used to provide whole-tumor CXCR4 readouts. CXCR4 expression and microvessel density were performed by immunohistochemistry analysis and western blot. T140-MB were formed with similar properties to NT-MB and accumulated sensitively and specifically in cells according to their CXCR4 expression. In NOD SCID mice, T140-MB persisted longer in tumors than NT-MB, indicative of target interaction, but showed no difference between U2932 and SuDHL8. In contrast, PET imaging with [18F]MCFB showed a marked difference in tumor uptake at 40–60 min post-injection between the two tumor models (p<0.05). Ex vivo analysis revealed that the large differences in CXCR4 expression between the two models are not reflected in the vascular compartment, where the MB are restricted; in fact, microvessel density and CXCR4 expression in the vasculature was comparable between U2932 and SuDHL8 tumors. In conclusion, we successfully developed a T140-MB that can be used for imaging CXCR4 expression in the tumor vasculature.
Date Issued
2021-11-18
Date Acceptance
2021-11-03
Citation
PLoS One, 2021, 16 (11), pp.1-21
ISSN
1932-6203
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Start Page
1
End Page
21
Journal / Book Title
PLoS One
Volume
16
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
Copyright: © 2021 Braga et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
License URL
Sponsor
Cancer Research UK
Identifier
https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000755319200119&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=a2bf6146997ec60c407a63945d4e92bb
Grant Number
22353
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH-FACTOR
SMALL-MOLECULE INHIBITORS
CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR
BREAST-CANCER
IN-VITRO
ANGIOGENESIS
PET
FACTOR-1-ALPHA
METASTASIS
CARCINOMA
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN e0260186
Date Publish Online
2021-11-18