Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

A novel PET tracer for evaluation of gene therapy

Journal Article · · Journal of Nuclear Medicine
OSTI ID:447746
; ;  [1]
  1. Cliniques Universitaires de Bruxelles-Hopital Erasme, Brussels (Belgium); and others
A promising approach of gene therapy for cancer consist in the transduction of neoplastic cells with the herpes virus thymidine-kinase gene (HSV-tk) which renders transduced cells sensitive to the lethal effect of anti-viral agent such as ganciclovir (GCV). Pet with adapted radiotracers represents an adequate tool to determine in vivo the level of HSV-tk expression and to establish the optimal protocol of gene and GCV administrations in human. We have developed a new potential PET tracer, 9-((1-[F-18]fluoro-3-hydroxy-2-propoxy)methyl)guanine [F-18]FHPG should theoretically accumulate in cells expressing HSV-tk. [F-18]FHPG was obtained by nucleophilic substitution on a ditosylate precursor followed by hydrolysis. To determine the biological behavior of this compound, we synthetized the corresponding non radioactive fluorinated analog (FHPG) and tested its inhibitory activity on HSV-tk transduced 9L gliosarcoma cells maintained in culture. FHPG at 100 {mu}M suppress cell growth by 50% while GCV and acyclovir induced 100% suppression at 10 and 100 {mu}M, respectively. We then tested the in vitro uptake of n.c.a. [F-18]FHPG in cultured cells transduced with HSV-tk or a control gene (neomycin). Ratio of [F-18]FHPG uptake in HSV-tk versus control cells was 240 after 6 hours of incubation. In vivo uptake of [F-18]FHPG was tested in experimental tumors obtained by stereotactical implantion of transduced 9L cells in the brain of male Fischer 344 rats. Ratio of [F-18]FHPG uptake in HSV-tk versus control tumors was 2.5, 3 hours after intravenous tracer injection. Uptake in HSV-tk tumor was 19-fold higher than in the cortex. We concluded that [F-18]FHPG is a promising PET tracer for the evaluation of gene therapy involving viral thymidine kinase genes.
OSTI ID:
447746
Report Number(s):
CONF-960659--
Journal Information:
Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Medicine Journal Issue: Suppl.5 Vol. 37; ISSN 0161-5505; ISSN JNMEAQ
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Selective enhancement of radiation response of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase transduced 9L gliosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo by antiviral agents
Journal Article · Tue Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1995 · International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics · OSTI ID:456772

Application of HSVtk suicide gene to X-SCID gene therapy: Ganciclovir treatment offsets gene corrected X-SCID B cells
Journal Article · Thu Mar 09 23:00:00 EST 2006 · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · OSTI ID:20798829

Genetic incorporation of HSV-1 thymidine kinase into the adenovirus protein IX for functional display on the virion
Journal Article · Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2005 · Virology · OSTI ID:20729113