Three Is a Magic Number: Tailored Clickable Chelators Used to Determine Optimal RGD-Peptide Multiplicity in αvβ6-Integrin Targeted ¹⁷⁷Lu-Labeled Cancer Theranostics

The cellular adhesion receptor αvβ6-integrin is highly expressed in many cancers, e.g., pancreatic, lung, head-and-neck, cervical, bladder, and esophageal carcinoma. Multimerization of αvβ6-integrin-specific RGD peptides increases the target affinity and retention but affects biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. Amide formation of the terminal carboxylic acid moieties of the square-symmetrical bifunctional chelator DOTPI with 3-azidopropylamine yields derivatives with 4, 3, and 2 terminal azides and zero, 1, and 2 remaining carboxylic acids, respectively, whereby formation of the 2-cis-isomer is preferred according to NMR investigation of the Eu(III)-complexes. Cu(II)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) of the alkyne-functionalized αvβ6-integrin binding peptide cyclo[YRGDLAYp(NMe)K(pent-4-ynoic amide)] (Tyr2) yields the respective di-, tri-, and tetrameric conjugates for Lu-177-labeling. In mice bearing αvβ6-integrin-expressing xenografts of H2009 (human lung adenocarcinoma) cells, the Lu-177-labeled trimer’s tumor-to-blood ratio of 112 exceeds that of the tetramer (10.4) and the dimer (54). Co-infusion of gelofusine (succinylated gelatin) reduces the renal uptake of the trimer by 89%, resulting in a 10-fold better tumor-to-kidney ratio, while no improvement of that ratio is observed with arginine/lysine, para-aminohippuric acid (PAH), and hydroxyethyl starch (HES) coinfusions. Since the Lu-177-labeled Tyr2-trimer outperforms the dimer and the tetramer, such trimers are considered the best lead structures for the ongoing development of αvβ6-integrin targeted anticancer theranostics.