Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the heterodimeric probe
18FAlF-labeled targeting both fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and integrin receptor α
Ⅴβ
3: 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid-FAP inhibitor-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (NOTA-FAPI-RGD) for its potential application in small-animal PET imaging of FAP-positive tumor-bearing nude mouse models and its preliminary clinical application.
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD was synthesized using an optimized
18FAlF-labeling method developed in previous studies. Cellular uptake and blocking experiments were performed in HT1080-FAP tumor cells to evaluate specific uptake in vitro. PET imaging was conducted in HT1080-FAP tumor-bearing mice to observe the distribution of
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD in the HT1080-FAP tumor model. Competitive PET imaging was performed by co-injection of NOTA-FAPI-02, NOTA-RGD, and NOTA-FAPI-RGD inhibitors, respectively, alongside imaging using
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-02 and
18FAlF-NOTA-RGD, to assess dual-target specificity in vivo. In addition, preliminary clinical PET imaging was also performed in breast cancer patients to evaluate its diagnostic performance. The dual-target radiotracer
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD is successfully synthesized and evaluated in this study. It exhibites significant uptake in HT1080-FAP tumor cells; Cell uptake can reach up to 44.66%±0.26%. After being blocked with NOTA-FAPI-02, NOTA-RGD, and NOTA-FAPI-RGD inhibitors, the cell uptake decreases to 0.46%±0.04%, 37.61%±1.21%, and 0.16%±0.02%, with
P<0.01, which confirms the dual-target specificity of
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD. In HT1080-FAP tumor-bearing mice, PET imaging demonstrates that
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD displays excellent pharmacokinetics, with high tumor uptake and prolonged retention time: Tumor uptake can reach up to (9.67±1.23)%ID/g at 0.5 h, and 6 h post-injection, tumor uptake still retains (8.10±1.35)%ID/g. Tumor uptake is effectively inhibited by NOTA-FAPI-02, NOTA-RGD, and NOTA-FAPI-RGD inhibitors, which demonstrates the dual-targeting specificity for both FAP and integrin receptor α
Ⅴβ
3. In contrast, the control radiotracers
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-02 and
18FAlF-NOTA-RGD show lower HT1080-FAP tumor uptake and retention, which indicates the superiority of
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD. Furthermore, clinical PET imaging in breast cancer patients demonstrates a greater lesion uptake value for
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD (SUV
max=12.41) compared to
18FFDG (SUV
max=7.45).
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD demonstrates dual-targeting specificity for both FAP and integrin receptor α
Ⅴβ
3, as well as high tumor uptake and prolonged tumor retention in both preclinical and clinical studies. Compared to single-targeting tracers, it shows superior imaging quality and lesion detection. These results highlight the potential of
18FAlF-NOTA-FAPI-RGD as a radiotracer for diagnosing tumors with high FAP and/or integrin α
Ⅴβ
3 expression, which offers promising prospects for clinical application.