Synthesis and Evaluation of a Dimeric RGD Peptide as a Preliminary Study for Radiotheranostics with Radiohalogens

We recently developed 125I- and 211At-labeled monomer RGD peptides using a novel radiolabeling method. Both labeled peptides showed high accumulation in the tumor and exhibited similar biodistribution, demonstrating their usefulness for radiotheranostics. This study applied the labeling method to a dimer RGD peptide with the aim of gaining higher accumulation in tumor tissues based on improved affinity with αvβ3 integrin. We synthesized an iodine-introduced dimer RGD peptide, E[c(RGDfK)] (6), and an 125/131I-labeled dimer RGD peptide, E[c(RGDfK)]{[125/131I]c[RGDf(4-I)K]} ([125/131I]6), and evaluated them as a preliminary step to the synthesis of an 211At-labeled dimer RGD peptide. The affinity of 6 for αvβ3 integrin was higher than that of a monomer RGD peptide. In the biodistribution experiment at 4 h postinjection, the accumulation of [125I]6 (4.12 ± 0.42% ID/g) in the tumor was significantly increased compared with that of 125I-labeled monomer RGD peptide (2.93 ± 0.08% ID/g). Moreover, the accumulation of [125I]6 in the tumor was greatly inhibited by co-injection of an excess RGD peptide. However, a single injection of [131I]6 (11.1 MBq) did not inhibit tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. We expect that the labeling method for targeted alpha therapy with 211At using a dimer RGD peptide could prove useful in future clinical applications.