Antibody Vectors for Imaging

Abstract

Non-invasive molecular imaging approaches include nuclear, optical, MRI, CT, ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, which require accumulation of a signal delivered by a probe at the target site. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are high affinity molecules that can be used for specific, high signal delivery to cell surface molecules. However, their long circulation time in blood makes them unsuitable as imaging probes. Efforts to improve antibodies pharmacokinetics without compromising affinity and specificity have been made through protein engineering. Antibody variants that differ in antigen binding sites and size have been generated and evaluated as imaging probes to target tissues of interest. Fast clearing fragments such as single-chain Fv (scFv; 25 kDa) with one antigen binding site (monovalent) demonstrated low accumulation in tumors due the low exposure time to the target. Using scFv as building block to produce larger, bivalent fragments such as scFv dimers (diabodies, 50 kDa) and scFv-fusion proteins (80 kDa minibodies and 105 kDa scFv-Fc) resulted in higher tumor accumulation due to their longer residence time in blood. Imaging studies with these fragments following radiolabeling have demonstrated excellent, high contrast images in gamma cameras and PET scanners. Several studies have also investigated antibody fragments conjugated to fluorescence (near infrared dyes), bioluminescence (luciferases) and quantum dots for optical imaging and iron oxides nanoparticles for MRI. However, these studies indicate that there are several factors that influence successful targeting and imaging. These include stability of the antibody fragment, the labeling chemistry (direct or indirect), whether critical residues are modified, the number of antigen expressed on the cell, and whether the target has a rapid recycling rate or internalizes upon binding. The preclinical data presented are compelling and it is evident that antibody-based molecular imaging tracers will play an important future role in the diagnosis and management of cancer and other diseases.