Synthesis and preliminary preclinical evaluation of fluorine-18 labelled isatin-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-thiosemicarbazone ([18F]4FIMPTC) as a novel PET tracer of P-glycoprotein expression

Abstract Background Several P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate tracers are available to assess P-gp function in vivo, but attempts to develop a tracer for measuring expression levels of P-gp have not been successful. Recently, (Z)-2-(5-fluoro-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)hydrazine-carboth...

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Main Authors: Joost Verbeek (Author), Jonas Eriksson (Author), Stina Syvänen (Author), Marc Huisman (Author), Robert C. Schuit (Author), Carla F. M. Molthoff (Author), Rob A. Voskuyl (Author), Elizabeth C. de Lange (Author), Adriaan A. Lammertsma (Author), Albert D. Windhorst (Author)
Format: Book
Published: SpringerOpen, 2018-09-01T00:00:00Z.
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Summary:Abstract Background Several P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrate tracers are available to assess P-gp function in vivo, but attempts to develop a tracer for measuring expression levels of P-gp have not been successful. Recently, (Z)-2-(5-fluoro-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)hydrazine-carbothioamide was described as a potential selective P-gp inhibitor that is not transported by P-gp. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to radiolabel two of its analogues and to assess their potential for imaging P-gp expression using PET. Results [18F]2-(4-fluoro-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)hydrazine-carbothioamide ([18F]5) and [18F]2-(6-fluoro-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)hydrazine-carbothioamide ([18F]6) were synthesized and both their biodistribution and metabolism were evaluated in rats. In addition, PET scans were acquired in rats before and after tariquidar (P-gp inhibitor) administration as well as in P-gp knockout (KO) mice. Both [18F]5 and [18F]6 were synthesized in 2-3% overall yield, and showed high brain uptake in ex vivo biodistribution studies. [18F]6 appeared to be metabolically unstable in vivo, while [18F]5 showed moderate stability with limited uptake of radiolabelled metabolites in the brain. PET studies showed that transport of [18F]5 across the blood-brain barrier was not altered by pre-treatment with the P-gp inhibitor tariquidar, and uptake was significantly lower in P-gp KO than in wild-type animals and indeed transported across the BBB or bound to P-gp in endothelial cells. Conclusion In conclusion, [18F]5 and [18F]6 were successfully and reproducibly synthesized, albeit with low radiochemical yields. [18F]5 appears to be a radiotracer that binds to P-gp, as showed in P-gp knock-out animals, but is not a substrate for P-gp.
Item Description:10.1186/s41181-018-0046-z
2365-421X