PET imaging using a triple-head gamma camera

Interest in clinical fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) imaging with multiple-head gamma cameras is growing. To improve sensitivity, triple-head coincidence imaging has been proposed. We report our initial experiences with a triple-head coincidence gamma camera with 19 mm sodium iodide crystal thickness. Several positron emission tomography-image quality parameters were evaluated using a Carlson and line source phantom. The system sensitivity with two-dimensional axial shields was 830 cps kBq-1 ml-1 and maximum noise equivalent count rate 1900 cps for an 18F-activity of 50 MBq. The imaging resolution was in central axial 7.0 mm and in central transaxial 7.6 mm, respectively. The average scatter fraction in scattered media was 29%. Clinical brain, heart and whole body images studies with [18F]FDG were acquired and they show good correlation with the phantom image quality. As a conclusion, triple-head coincidence gamma camera provides relatively high-count rate imaging with good contrast and resolution.     

Detection and measurement of in vitro gene transfer by gamma camera imaging

The purpose of this work was to develop a high capacity method to image gene transfer to cancer cells growing as monolayers in cell culture plates. A sensitive and high capacity nuclear-imaging method for detection of gene transfer in vitro will allow rapid validation of vectors in different cell lines under various conditions. Human cancer cell lines (A-427 non-small cell lung, SKOV3.ip1 ovarian, MDA-MB-468 breast, and BxPC-3 pancreatic) were infected with a replication-incompetent adenoviral vector encoding the human type 2 somatostatin receptor (Ad-hSSTr2). Expression of the hSSTr2 reporter protein in cells was detected by imaging an internalized 99mTc-labeled, hSSTr2 binding peptide (P2045, Diatide, Inc.). Imaging provided an accurate measure of internally bound 99mTc as evidenced by equivalence of results for imaging region of interest (ROI) analyses and gamma counter measurements. Internally bound 99mTc-P2045 was linearly correlated (R2 = 0.98) with the percentage of hSSTr2-positive cells following gene transfer. Excess P2045 blocked binding and internalization of the 99mTc-P2045, indicating the specificity of the technique. Up to four 96-well plates could be imaged simultaneously, thereby demonstrating the high capacity of the system. This novel in vitro approach provides a new method to test enhanced gene transfer as new vectors are developed.     

Monitoring adenoviral DNA delivery,using a mutant herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase gene as a PET reporter gene

Current gene therapy protocols often suffer from an inability to monitor the site, level and persistence of gene expression following somatic DNA delivery. Herpes simplex virus 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-tk) is currently under intensive investigation as a reporter gene for in vivo imaging of reporter gene expression. The presence of the HSV1-tk reporter gene is repetitively and non-invasively monitored by systemic injection of positron-emitting, radionuclide-labeled thymidine analogues or acycloguanosine HSV1-TK substrates and subsequent detection, by positron emission tomography, of trapped, phosphorylated product. To improve the efficacy of the HSV1-tk PET reporter gene system, both alternative substrates and mutations in the HSV1-tk gene have been described. We used a replication defective adenovirus to deliver the HSV1-sr39tk mutant enzyme and the wild-type HSV1-tk enzyme to mice. HSV1-sr39TK demonstrates greater sensitivity than wild-type HSV1-TK enzyme in vivo, using 9-[(4-[(18)F]fluoro-3-hydroxymethylbutyl)guanine as probe, following adenovirus-mediated hepatic expression in mice. Using this adenoviral delivery system, the location, magnitude and duration of HSV1-sr39tk PET reporter gene expression could be non-invasively, quantitatively and repetitively monitored for over 3 months by microPET.     

Tumor-specific gene transfer via an adenoviral vector targeted to the pan-carcinoma antigen EpCAM.

The utility of adenoviral vectors for cancer therapy is limited due to their lack of specificity for tumor cells. In order to target adenovirus to tumor, the natural tropism of the adenovirus should be ablated and replaced by a tumor-specific binding domain. To this end, a neutralizing anti-fiber antibody conjugated to an anti-EpCAM antibody was created that targets the adenovirus to the EpCAM antigen present on tumor cells. The EpCAM antigen was chosen as the target because this antigen is highly expressed on a variety of adenocarcinomas of different origin such as breast, ovary, colon and lung, whereas EpCAM expression is limited in normal tissues. In these studies, the EpCAM-targeted adenovirus was shown to infect specifically cancer cell lines of different origin expressing EpCAM such as ovary, colon and head and neck. Gene transfer was blocked by excess anti-EpCAM antibody and dramatically reduced in EpCAM negative cell lines, thus showing the specificity of the EpCAM-targeted adenovirus. Importantly, infection with targeted adenovirus was independent of CAR, which is the natural receptor for adenovirus binding, since blocking of CAR with recombinant fiber knob did not affect infection with targeted adenovirus. Apart from the cancer cell lines, the efficacy of targeted viral infection was studied in freshly isolated primary human colon cancer cells. As colon cancer predominantly metastasizes to liver, and adenovirus has a high tropism for hepatocytes, we also sought to determine if the EpCAM-targeted adenovirus showed reduced infectivity of human liver cells. The bispecific antibody could successfully mediate gene transfer to primary human colon cancer cells, whereas it almost completely abolished infection of liver cells. This work thus demonstrates that EpCAM-targeted adenoviral vectors can be specifically directed to a wide variety of adenocarcinomas. This approach may prove to be useful for selective gene therapy of cancer.     

Periocular injection of an adenoviral vector encoding pigment epithelium-derived factor inhibits choroidal neovascularization

Gene transfer provides an exciting new approach for the treatment of retinal and choroidal diseases. Two areas of concern are the potential for vector-related toxicity and uncertainties associated with prolonged transgene expression. One way to address these concerns for transfer of genes encoding secreted proteins is to transduce cells on the outside of the eye, provided the gene product can gain access to the eye and have the desired effect. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of this approach. Periocular injection of an adenoviral vector encoding beta-galactosidase (AdLacZ.10) resulted in LacZ-stained cells throughout the orbit and around the eye. Compared to periocular injection of 5 x 10(9) particles of control vector, periocular injection of 5 x 10(9) or 1 x 10(9) particles of an adenoviral vector expressing pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) regulated by a CMV promoter (AdPEDF.11) resulted in significantly elevated intraocular levels of PEDF and suppression of choroidal neovascularization. Periocularly injected recombinant PEDF was also found to diffuse through the sclera into the eye. Although similar experiments are needed in an animal with a human-sized eye, these data suggest that periocular gene transfer deserves consideration for the treatment of choroidal diseases.     

Repetitive, non-invasive imaging of the dopamine D2 receptor as a reporter gene in living animals.

Reporter genes (e.g. beta-galactosidase, chloramphenicol-acetyltransferase, green fluorescent protein, luciferase) play critical roles in investigating mechanisms of gene expression in transgenic animals and in developing gene delivery systems for gene therapy. However, measuring expression of these reporter genes requires biopsy or death. We now report a procedure to image reporter gene expression repetitively and non-invasively in living animals with positron emission tomography (PET), using the dopamine type 2 receptor (D2R) as a reporter gene and 3-(2'-[18F]fluoroethyl)spiperone (FESP) as a reporter probe. We use a viral delivery system to demonstrate the ability of this PET reporter gene/PET reporter probe system to image reporter gene expression following somatic gene transfer. In mice injected intravenously with replication-deficient adenovirus carrying a D2R reporter gene, PET in vivo measures of hepatic [18F] retention are proportional to in vitro measures of hepatic FESP retention, D2R ligand binding and D2R mRNA. We use tumor-forming cells carrying a stably transfected D2R gene to demonstrate imaging of this PET reporter gene/PET reporter probe system in 'tissues'. Tumors expressing the transfected D2R reporter gene retain substantially more FESP than control tumors. The D2R/FESP reporter gene/reporter probe system should be a valuable technique to monitor, in vivo, expression from both gene therapy vectors and transgenes.     

Novel recombinant adenoviral vector that targets the interleukin-13 receptor alpha2 chain permits effective gene transfer to malignant glioma

Transduction of malignant glioma with adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vectors is limited by the low levels of coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) on tumor cells. However, malignant brain tumors have been found to overexpress a glioma-associated receptor, interleukin-13 receptor alpha2 chain (IL-13Ralpha2), a marker of both glial transformation and tumor grade. To selectively target Ad5 to IL-13Ralpha2, we constructed a replication-deficient adenoviral vector that possesses an IL-13 ligand presented by a T4 phage fibritin shaft, and designated the new virus LU-13. Western blot and sequence analyses confirmed proper trimerization and ligand presentation by the T4 fibritin shaft. Confocal microscopy analysis of primary glioma suspensions incubated with viral recombinants showed that LU-13 colocalized with IL-13Ralpha2. Luciferase transduction assays conducted in both primary and passaged glioma cell cultures exhibited at least 10-fold enhanced gene transduction. Moreover, the virus preferentially bound to glioma cells, as documented by increased adenoviral E4 DNA copy number. In vitro competition assays performed with anti-human IL-13 monoclonal antibody confirmed significant attenuation of LU-13 transduction. These results were further confirmed in vivo, where LU-13 showed a 300-fold increase in transgene expression. In summary, we describe here the development of a novel and targeted adenoviral vector that binds IL-13Ralpha2. Our findings confirm the ability of LU-13 to bind IL-13Ralpha2 and increase transgene expression, making it an attractive gene therapy vector for the treatment of malignant glioma in a clinical setting.     

对肿瘤内miR-21表达进行契伦科夫光学成像的新方法:基于HSV1-tk报告基因

目的构建一种基于I型单纯疱疹病毒胸苷激酶（HSV1-tk）的新型报告基因体系,用于对肿瘤内微小核糖核酸（miR-21）的表达进行契伦科夫光学成像。方法将细胞巨病毒（CMV）启动子基因、HSV1-tk基因以及可被miR-21互补结合的三联miR-21靶基因序列,串联构建成报告基因（CMV-HSV1-tk-3×miR-21t）,即将CMV-HSV1-tk-3×miR-21t序列连接到pcDNA3.1质粒载体中并转染A549细胞。向稳定表达上述报告基因的A549细胞（A549T细胞）加入9-[4-[18F]氟-3(羟甲基)丁基]鸟嘌呤（[18F] FHBG）孵育;或采用可互补结合miR-21的梯度剂量反义寡聚miR-21（Anti-miR-21）处理A549T细胞后,加入[18F]FHBG孵育。分别对上述细胞进行契伦科夫光学成像和放射性γ计数。另构建A549T裸鼠皮下移植瘤模型,分为2组分别瘤内注射Anti-miR- 21与对照混合RNA,然后分别经尾静脉注射[18F]FHBG后进行活体契伦科夫光学成像。结果A549T细胞摄取[18F]FHBG后,其光学信号强度、γ计数分别与细胞数量之间呈线性正相关（R2=0.9962、0.9807）;加入Anti-miR-21的剂量与光学信号强度、γ计数之间分别呈剂量依赖性正相关（P < 0.05）;A549T细胞皮下瘤模型成像结果显示,瘤内注射Anti-miR-21与对照RNA的移植瘤对比,肿瘤组织信号更高且视觉对比显著。结论基于microRNA调控的示踪剂摄取相关报告基因体系,本研究成功构建了一种用于对肿瘤内miR-21表达进行契伦科夫光学成像的新方法。      

铁蛋白报告基因在磁共振分子影像学中的研究进展

铁蛋白是体内铁储存的主要形式之一,它普遍存在于各种生物中.铁蛋白在细胞中的过度表达能够增加细胞对铁的摄取,促使细胞内、外铁重新分布,导致细胞内铁的净含量增加,磁共振成像时表现为横向弛豫率的增加,T2值的减低.近年来,铁蛋白作为一种新的内源性MRI报告基因逐渐引起人们的重视.现就铁蛋白作MRI报告基因的机制、研究现状及其发展前景做一概述.     

A pilot study of in vivo liver-directed gene transfer with an adenoviral vector in partial ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency.

Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency (OTCD) is an inborn error of urea synthesis that has been considered as a model for liver-directed gene therapy. Current treatment has failed to avert a high mortality or morbidity from hyperammonemic coma. Restoration of enzyme activity in the liver should suffice to normalize metabolism. An E1- and E4-deleted vector based on adenovirus type 5 and containing human OTC cDNA was infused into the right hepatic artery in adults with partial OTCD. Six cohorts of three or four subjects received 1/2 log-increasing doses of vector from 2 x 10(9) to 6 x 10(11) particles/kg. This paper describes the experience in all but the last subject, who experienced lethal complications. Adverse effects included a flu-like episode and a transient rise in temperature, hepatic transaminases, thrombocytopenia, and hypophosphatemia. Humoral responses to the vector were seen in all research subjects and a proliferative cellular response to the vector developed in apparently naive subjects. In situ hybridization studies showed transgene expression in hepatocytes of 7 of 17 subjects. Three of 11 subjects with symptoms related to OTCD showed modest increases in urea cycle metabolic activity that were not statistically significant. The low levels of gene transfer detected in this trial suggest that at the doses tested, significant metabolic correction did not occur.     

Tyrosinase as a dual reporter gene for both photoacoustic and magnetic resonance imaging

Reporter genes are useful scientific tools for analyzing promoter activity, transfection efficiency, and cell migration. The current study has validated the use of tyrosinase (involved in melanin production) as a dual reporter gene for magnetic resonance and photoacoustic imaging. MCF-7 cells expressing tyrosinase appear brown due to melanin. Magnetic resonance imaging of tyrosinase-expressing MCF-7 cells in 300 μL plastic tubes displayed a 34 to 40% reduction in T1 compared to normal MCF-7 cells when cells were incubated with 250 μM ferric citrate. Photoacoustic imaging of tyrosinase-expressing MCF-7 cells in 700 μm plastic tubes displayed a 20 to 57-fold increase in photoacoustic signal compared to normal MCF-7 cells. The photoacoustic signal from tyrosinase-expressing MCF-7 cells was significantly greater than blood at 650 nm, suggesting that tyrosinase-expressing cells can be differentiated from the vasculature with in vivo photoacoustic imaging. The imaging results suggest that tyrosinase is a useful reporter gene for both magnetic resonance and photoacoustic imaging.     

Multimodality imaging of lymphocytic migration using lentiviral-based transduction of a tri-fusion reporter gene.

PURPOSE: Previous work showed quantitative imaging of T-cell migration into a tumor site by positron emission tomography (PET), using retroviral transduction of mutated thymidine kinase (sr39TK) reporter genes into immunized T-lymphocytes. PROCEDURES AND RESULTS: In order to improve the sensitivity and flexibility of the imaging analysis, lentivirus, that expressed sr39TK, was used to transduce the lymphocytes that migrated to an immunogenic sarcoma site. In comparison to retrovirally transduced lymphocytes, the lentivirally transduced lymphocytes showed enhanced PET signal when equal numbers of transduced lymphocytes were transferred. Furthermore, in order to utilize multimodality in vivo imaging capability, a tri-fusion reporter gene containing sr39TK, synthetic Renilla luciferase (hRluc), and enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) was inserted into a lentiviral transfer vector. Using the adoptive transfer model, tumor-specific lymphocytic migration was detected by both microPET scan and bioluminescence imaging. CONCLUSION: The multimodal imaging strategy coupled with lentiviral reporter construct delivery demonstrated here can facilitate future molecular imaging studies.     

PET imaging of thymidine kinase gene expression in the liver of non-human primates following systemic delivery of an adenoviral vector

Non-invasive in vivo imaging of transgene expression is currently providing very important means to optimize gene therapy regimes. Results in non-human primates are considered the most predictive models for the outcome in patients. In this study, we have documented that tumour and primary cell lines from human and non-human primates are comparably gene-transduced in vitro by serotype 5 adenovirus expressing HSV1-thymidine kinase. Transgene expression can be quantified in human and monkey cultured cells by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging when transduced cells are incubated with a fluoride-18 labelled penciclovir analogue. In our hands, PET images of cell cultures estimate the number of transduced cells rather than intensity of transgene expression once a threshold of TK per cell is reached. Interestingly, in vivo systemic administration of a clinical grade recombinant adenovirus expressing TK into macaques gives rise to an intense retention of the radiotracer in the liver parenchyma, providing an experimental system to visualize transgene expression that ought to be similar in human and macaques. Such imaging methodology might contribute to improve strategies based on adenoviral vectors.     

构建能转染人骨髓间充质干细胞的Ad5 GM-CSF-IL-2腺病毒载体

背景：如何将树突状细胞和T细胞活化因子运送至肿瘤局部是有待解决的难题之一。利用人骨髓问充质干细胞具有肿瘤趋向性和低免疫原性的特性,将树突状细胞和T细胞活化因子导入骨髓间充质干细胞后运送至肿瘤局部表达可能是解决上述难题的方案之一。目的：构建共表达粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2的5型腺病毒载体（Ad5GM-CSF-IL-2）,感染人骨髓间充质干细胞,检测粒细胞一巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2的表达水平和持续时间,为体内活化树突状细胞和T细胞提供实验依据。方法：提取人外周血单个核细胞总RNA,以此为模板用RT-PCR方法扩增粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2基因cDNA,PCR扩增片段分别插入pcDNA3．1／Myc-His（-）B真核表达载体中,再利用脑心肌炎病毒内部核酸进入位点（IRES）序列,构建腺病毒载体穿梭质粒pDC515GM-CSF-IRES-IL-2。采用AdMax^TMFLP重组腺病毒载体体系,将穿梭质粒pDC515GM-CSF-IRES-IL-2与pBGHfrt△E1,3FLP骨架质粒共转染至293细胞,通过重组酶位点特异性重组获得Ad5GM-CSF-IL-2。Ad5GM-CSF-IL-2感染人骨髓间充质干细胞后经v射线照射使其失去增殖能力,分别用粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2ELISA试剂盒在不同的时间点检测细胞上清中粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2蛋白的水平。结果与结论：经测序证实,克隆获得的粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子、白细胞介素2的cDNA序列分别与GenBank NM_000758（435bp）和GenBank NM_000586（462bp）提供的序列完全一致。用AdMax^TMFLP重组腺病毒载体可高效、快捷地获得所要包装的腺病毒载体,通过IRES连接粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2两个基因,均获得高效表达。Ad5GM-CSF-IL-2感染人骨髓间充质干细胞后可连续7d高水平地分泌粒细胞-巨噬细胞集落刺激因子和白细胞介素2。     

Stable gene transfer to the nervous system using a non-primate lentiviral vector

We have constructed a non-primate lentiviral vector system based on the equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV). This system is able to transduce both dividing and non-dividing cells, including primary cultured hippocampal neurons and neurons and glia in the adult rat central nervous system (CNS), at efficiencies comparable with HIV-based vectors. We demonstrate that the only EIAV proteins required for this activity are gag/pol and that the only accessory protein required for vector production is rev. In addition, we show that the pol encoded dUTPase activity that is found in all non-primate lentiviruses is not required. The vectors can be pseudotyped with a range of envelopes including rabies G and MLV 4070A and can be concentrated to high titres. The ability of EIAV to infect mitotically inactive cells makes this vector an attractive alternative to the immunodeficiency viruses for gene therapy.