Intracoronary injection of in situ forming alginate hydrogel reverses left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction in Swine.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether alginate biomaterial can be delivered effectively into the infarcted myocardium by intracoronary injection to prevent left ventricular (LV) remodeling early after myocardial infarction (MI). BACKGROUND: Although injectable biomaterials can improve infarct healing and repair, the feasibility and effectiveness of intracoronary injection have not been studied. METHODS: We prepared a calcium cross-linked alginate solution that undergoes liquid to gel phase transition after deposition in infarcted myocardium. Anterior MI was induced in swine by transient balloon occlusion of left anterior descending coronary artery. At 4 days after MI, either alginate solution (2 or 4 ml) or saline was injected selectively into the infarct-related coronary artery. An additional group (n = 19) was treated with incremental volumes of biomaterial (1, 2, and 4 ml) or 2 ml saline and underwent serial echocardiography studies. RESULTS: Examination of hearts harvested after injection showed that the alginate crossed the infarcted leaky vessels and was deposited as hydrogel in the infarcted tissue. At 60 days, control swine experienced an increase in left ventricular (LV) diastolic area by 44%, LV systolic area by 45%, and LV mass by 35%. In contrast, intracoronary injection of alginate (2 and 4 ml) prevented and even reversed LV enlargement (p < 0.01). Post-mortem analysis showed that the biomaterial (2 ml) increased scar thickness by 53% compared with control (2.9 +/- 0.1 mm vs. 1.9 +/- 0.3 mm; p < 0.01) and was replaced by myofibroblasts and collagen. CONCLUSIONS: Intracoronary injection of alginate biomaterial is feasible, safe, and effective. Our findings suggest a new percutaneous intervention to improve infarct repair and prevent adverse remodeling after reperfused MI.

High-affinity epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) irreversible inhibitors with diminished chemical reactivities as positron emission tomography (PET)-imaging agent candidates of EGFR overexpressing tumors.

Previous studies with the anilinoquinazoline epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) irreversible inhibitor [(11)C]-ML03 demonstrated a rapid metabolism of the tracer, which led to its low in vivo accumulation in EGFR overexpressing tumors. To enhance tumor uptake, the chemical structure of the compound was modified, and four new groups of EGFR inhibitors with a wide range of chemical reactivities were synthesized. Chemical reactivity assay of the compounds, performed with reduced glutathione (GSH), revealed that the group C (4-(dimethylamino)-but-2-enoic amide) derivative was the least chemically reactive against the nucleophilic attack of GSH. Nonetheless, it demonstrated a high inhibitory potency and bound irreversibly to the EGFR. Consequently, the blood stability of the group C compound (5a, ML04) labeled with (11)C was studied. In a time frame of 60 min, no radioactive metabolites were detected in blood. The stability of [(11)C]-5a, as indicated both from in vitro blood-stability assays and injection into nude rats, was significantly higher as compared to [(11)C]-ML03. Since group C presented a greater promise for tumor accumulation, it represents, to date, the most suitable candidate for radiolabeling with long-lived positron emission tomography (PET) radioisotopes.

Novel iodine-124 labeled EGFR inhibitors as potential PET agents for molecular imaging in cancer.

The in vivo results with our previously reported irreversible labeled inhibitor [(11)C]-ML03 suggested that more chemically stable inhibitors, labeled with a longer-lived radioisotope, could be better candidates for molecular imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) positive tumors. On the basis of this hypothesis we synthesized three new irreversible tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitors with various chemical reactivities. The three new inhibitors were successfully labeled on the anilino moiety with [(124)I], starting with the 6-amino-4-[(3-tributylstannylphenyl)amino]-quinazoline (9) precursor. The cell-free results, obtained with these new irreversible inhibitors, indicated that compounds 5 (alpha-chloro-acetamide derivative) and 6 (4-dimethylamino-but-2-enoic amide derivative) possessed high potencies toward the EGFR with an irreversible inhibition effect. Compound 4 (alpha-methoxy-acetamide derivative) was found to be less potent, with only a partially irreversible effect. The high potency of compounds 5 and 6 toward the EGFR establishes their potential as PET agents for molecular imaging of EGFR positive tumors. Their prospect as PET biomarkers is further being investigated.

Novel carbon-11 labeled 4-dimethylamino-but-2-enoic acid [4-(phenylamino)-quinazoline-6-yl]-amides: potential PET bioprobes for molecular imaging of EGFR-positive tumors.

We have previously reported of labeled reversible and irreversible EGFR inhibitors, such as 4-(3,4-dichloro-6-fluoroanilino)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (ML01) and 6-acrylamido-4-(3,4-dichloro-6-fluoroanilino)quinazoline (ML03), to be suboptimal as imaging agents. On the basis of these studies, a new generation of novel, more chemically stable irreversible inhibitors was labeled with carbon-11 as potential positron emission tomography (PET) biomarkers for molecular imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive tumors. In these new labeled, irreversible inhibitors the acryl-amide group at the 6-position of the quinazoline ring was replaced with a 4-dimethylamino-but-2-enoic amide. The nonlabeled compounds were evaluated in vitro to determine their EGFR autophosphorylation IC(50) values. The IC(50) values indicated that these new irreversible compounds possess similar potencies towards the EGFR, as the parent compound, ML03. These compounds were labeled with carbon-11 at the dimethylamine moiety, using the well known labeling reagent C-11 MeI. The labeling procedure was automated using a commercial module. The final products were obtained with 10% decay corrected radiochemical yield, 99% radiochemical purity, 96% chemical purity, and a high specific activity of 2.7 Ci/micromol EOB. The high potency of these new labeled bioprobes towards the EGFR establishes their potential to serve as PET agents for molecular imaging of EGFR-positive tumors.