Radiosynthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of a novel 18F-labeled MCT1/MCT4 inhibitor for tumor imaging by PET

Aim: Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) are integral plasma membrane proteins that bi-directionally transport lactate and ketone bodies and are highly expressed in non-hypoxic regions of human colon, brain, breast, lung and other tumors.[1] Transporter inhibition leads to intracellular lactate accumulation, acidosis and cell death especially in glioma cell lines.[2] Accordingly, MCT1/MCT4 inhibitors are regarded to be of potential clinical use. In the current study a new 18F-labeled MCT1/MCT4 inhibitor was developed for in vivo PET imaging of MCT1/MCT4-overexpressing brain tumors.

Methods: (E)-2-Cyano-3-{4-[(3-fluoropropyl)(propyl)amino]-2-methoxyphenyl}acrylic acid (CAPAA) was synthesized from m-anisidine in three consecutive steps with 50% overall yield. Similar strategy was carried out to synthesize the mesylated precursor for radiosynthesis. Radiosynthesis of [18F]CAPAA was achieved by a two-step reaction, starting with the nucleophilic substitution of fluorine-18 on the alkyl chain using [18F]TBAF followed by removal of the protecting group by TFA at room temperature. [18F]CAPAA was isolated by semi-preparative HPLC eluting with 46% CH3CN/aq. 20 mM NH4HCO2 (Reprosil-Pur C18-AQ column, 250 × 10 mm), purified via Sep-Pak® C18 light cartridge and formulated in 10% EtOH/saline solution. LogD was assessed by the shake-flask method. The average IC50 values for MCT1 and MCT4 were evaluated via [14C]lactate uptake assay on the rat brain cerebrovascular endothelial cell line RBE4. The apparent affinity of [18F]CAPAA (KD) was determined using brain homogenate obtained from female CD1 mouse. The radiotracer metabolism was investigated in female CD1 mice by radio-HPLC of plasma and brain samples obtained at 30 min p.i. Plasma obtained at 60 min p.i. was used to measure the in vivo plasma free fraction.

Results: During radiosynthesis, a radiolabeled intermediate was obtained by an optimized procedure (CH3CN, 50µl of TBAHCO3-, 2-5 GBq of K[18F]F, 100 ̊C, 15 min) with 55-70% yield (n=8, non-isolated) determined by radio-HPLC analysis. Deprotection of tert-Bu group was accomplished with TFA in acetonitrile at r.t. for 15 min with 65-73% yield (n=10, radio-HPLC, non-isolated). The radiotracer was obtained in 42-65% radiochemical yield (RCY) with >98% radiochemical purity (RCP). The radioligand was highly stable in saline and PBS (>95%) up to 60 min. LogD was determined as 0.42 which reveals the tracer has moderate lipophilicity. CAPAA showed high MCT1 and MCT4 inhibition activity (IC50 = 11 and 6.4 nM respectively). [18F]CAPAA binds with an apparent KD value of ~30 nM in a saturable manner to a binding site in the brain of healthy mice. In vivo studies showed >99% of intact tracer in plasma at 30 min p.i. and a free fraction in plasma of ~3% at 60 min p.i.

Conclusions: [18F]CAPAA was achieved in high RCY and RCP and showed considerable in vitro and in vivo stability. Accordingly, the newly developed MCT1/MCT4 radioligand is anticipated to be a useful agent for imaging of tumors by PET. Animal PET imaging on healthy and brain tumor-bearing mice is currently performed.