Preclinical Characterization of a Stabilized Gastrin-Releasing Peptide Receptor Antagonist for Targeted Cancer Theranostics

Radiolabeled gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) antagonists have shown great promise for the theranostics of prostate cancer; however, their suboptimal metabolic stability leaves room for improvements. It was recently shown that the replacement of Gly(11) with Sar(11) in the peptidic [D-Phe(6),Leu(13)-NHEt,des-Met(14)]BBN(6-14) chain stabilized the [Tc-99m]Tc-DB15 radiotracer against neprilysin (NEP). We herein present DOTAGA-PEG(2)-(Sar(11))RM26 (AU-RM26-M1), after Gly(11) to Sar(11)-replacement. The impact of this replacement on the metabolic stability and overall biological performance of [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1 was studied using a head-to-head comparison with the unmodified reference [In-111]In-DOTAGA-PEG(2)-RM26. In vitro, the cell uptake of [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1 could be significantly reduced in the presence of a high-excess GRPR-blocker that demonstrated its specificity. The cell uptake of both radiolabeled GRPR antagonists increased with time and was superior for [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1. The dissociation constant reflected strong affinities for GRPR (500 pM for [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1). [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1 showed significantly higher stability in peripheral mice blood at 5 min pi (88 & PLUSMN; 8% intact) than unmodified [In-111]In-DOTAGA-PEG(2)-RM26 (69 & PLUSMN; 2% intact; p < 0.0001). The administration of a NEP inhibitor had no significant impact on the Sar(11)-compound (91 & PLUSMN; 2% intact; p > 0.05). In vivo, [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1 showed high and GRPR-mediated uptake in the PC-3 tumors (7.0 & PLUSMN; 0.7%IA/g vs. 0.9 & PLUSMN; 0.6%IA/g in blocked mice) and pancreas (2.2 & PLUSMN; 0.6%IA/g vs. 0.3 & PLUSMN; 0.2%IA/g in blocked mice) at 1 h pi, with rapid clearance from healthy tissues. The tumor uptake of [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1 was higher than for [In-111]In-DOTAGA-PEG(2)-RM26 (at 4 h pi, 5.7 & PLUSMN; 1.8%IA/g vs. 3 & PLUSMN; 1%IA/g), concordant with its higher stability. The implanted PC-3 tumors were visualized with high contrast in mice using [In-111]In-AU-RM26-M1 SPECT/CT. The Gly(11) to Sar(11)-substitution stabilized [In-111]In-DOTAGA-PEG(2)-(Sar(11))RM26 against NEP without negatively affecting other important biological features. These results support the further evaluation of AU-RM26-M1 for prostate cancer theranostics after labeling with clinically relevant radionuclides.

Automated summary

This study presents a new GRPR antagonist with improved stability and specificity for the theranostics of prostate cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that the new compound demonstrated higher stability and selective targeting, indicating its potential therapeutic value.