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Purpose: We recently reported that anionic phospholipids, principally phosphatidylserine, become exposed on the external surface of vascular endothelial cells in tumors, probably in response to oxidative stresses present in the tumor microenvironment. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a chimeric monoclonal antibody that binds phosphatidylserine could be labeled with radioactive arsenic isotopes and used for molecular imaging of solid tumors in rats. As (h -,T 1/2 1.6 days) using a novel procedure. The radionuclides of arsenic were selected because their long half-lives are consistent with the long biological half lives of antibodies in vivo and because their chemistry permits stable attachment to antibodies. The radiolabeled antibodies were tested for the ability to image subcutaneous Dunning prostate R3227-AT1tumors in rats. Results: Clear images of the tumors were obtained using planar g-scintigraphy and positron emission tomography. Biodistribution studies confirmed the specific localization of bavituximab to the tumors. The tumor-to-liver ratio 72 h after injection was 22 for bavituximab compared with 1.5 for an isotype-matched control chimeric antibody of irrelevant specificity. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the bavituximab was labeling the tumor vascular endothelium. Conclusions: These results show that radioarsenic-labeled bavituximab has potential as a new tool for imaging the vasculature of solid tumors.

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Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) has found significant use in evaluating long-term cancer therapy in small animals. We have now tested the feasibility of using BLI to assess acute effects of the vascular disrupting agent Combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) on luciferase expressing MDA-MB-231 human breast tumor cells growing as xenografts in mice. Following administration of luciferin substrate, there is a rapid increase in light emission reaching a maximum after about six minutes, which gradually decreases over the following 20 min. The kinetics of light emission are highly reproducible, however, following IP administration of CA4P (120 mg/kg), the detected light emission was decreased between 50 and 90 percent and time to maximum was significantly delayed. Twenty-four hours later, there was some recovery of light emission following further administration of luciferin substrate. Comparison with dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI based on the paramagnetic contrast agent Omniscan showed comparable changes in the tumors consistent with the previous literature. Histology also confirmed shutdown of tumor vascular perfusion. We believe this provides an important novel application for BLI, which could have widespread application in screening novel therapeutics expected to cause acute vascular changes in tumors.

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