[18F]Fluoro-DCP, a first generation PET radiotracer for monitoring protein sulfenylation in vivo

Kiran Kumar Solingapuram Sai; Xiaofei Chen; Zhe Li; Caigang Zhu; Kirtikar Shukla; Tom E Forshaw; Hanzhi Wu; Stephen A Vance; Buddhika Liyana Pathirannahel; Megan Madonna; Mark W Dewhirst; Allen W Tsang; Leslie B Poole; Nimmi Ramanujam; S Bruce King; Cristina M Furdui

doi:10.1016/j.redox.2021.102218

[¹⁸F]Fluoro-DCP, a first generation PET radiotracer for monitoring protein sulfenylation in vivo

Redox Biol. 2022 Feb:49:102218. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2021.102218. Epub 2021 Dec 18.

Authors

Kiran Kumar Solingapuram Sai¹, Xiaofei Chen², Zhe Li³, Caigang Zhu⁴, Kirtikar Shukla², Tom E Forshaw², Hanzhi Wu², Stephen A Vance³, Buddhika Liyana Pathirannahel¹, Megan Madonna⁴, Mark W Dewhirst⁵, Allen W Tsang², Leslie B Poole⁶, Nimmi Ramanujam⁴, S Bruce King³, Cristina M Furdui⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Molecular Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
³ Department of Chemistry, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
⁵ Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Molecular Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. Electronic address: cfurdui@wakehealth.edu.

Abstract

Redox metabolism plays essential functions in the pathology of cancer and many other diseases. While several radiotracers for imaging redox metabolism have been developed, there are no reports of radiotracers for in vivo imaging of protein oxidation. Here we take the first step towards this goal and describe the synthesis and kinetic properties of a new positron emission tomography (PET) [¹⁸F]Fluoro-DCP radiotracer for in vivo imaging of protein sulfenylation. Time course biodistribution and PET/CT studies using xenograft animal models of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC) demonstrate its capability to distinguish between tumors with radiation sensitive and resistant phenotypes consistent with previous reports of decreased protein sulfenylation in clinical specimens of radiation resistant HNSCC. We envision further development of this technology to aid research efforts towards improving diagnosis of patients with radiation resistant tumors.

Keywords: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer; PET imaging; Protein sulfenylation; Radiation resistance; [18F]F-DCP.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Fluorodeoxyglucose F18*
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
Humans
Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography / methods
Positron-Emission Tomography / methods
Tissue Distribution

Substances

Fluorodeoxyglucose F18

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding