Early diagnosis and
therapy are crucial to control disease progression optimally and achieve
a good prognosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Previous study showed
that a technetium-99m (99mTc)-labeled TSPO ligand (99mTc-CB256 [2-(8-(2-(bis(pyridin-2-yl)methyl)amino)acetamido)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)H-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)-N,N-dipropylacetamide] composed of a translocator
protein (TSPO) ligand CB86 [[2-(4-chlorophenyl)-8-amino-imidazo[1,2-a]-pyridin-3-yl]-N,N-di-n-propylacetamide] and di-(2-picolyl)amine, a bifunctional
chelate agent, was used to image a TSPO-rich cancer cell in
vitro; however, few 99mTc-CB256 in vivo evaluation has been reported so far probably due to the cytotoxicity
of CB256 (ca. 75 times more than analogous CB86).
Herein, we describe a novel TSPO targeting radiopharmaceutical consisting
of CB86 and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), a conventional
bifunctional chelating ligand in clinical trials used to prepare 99mTc-labeled CB86, and its evaluation as a 99mTc-single-photon
emission computed tomography (SPECT) probe. The radiosynthesis and
characterization of 99mTc-DPTA-CB86 including hydrophilicity
and stability tests were determined. Additionally, the binding affinity
and specificity of 99mTc-DTPA-CB86 to TSPO were evaluated
using RAW264.7 macrophage cells. Biodistribution and 99mTc-SPECT studies were conducted on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rat
models after the injection of 99mTc-DTPA-CB86 with or without
co-injection of unlabeled DTPA-CB86. The radiosynthesis of 99mTc-DTPA-CB86 was completed successfully with the labeling yields
and radiochemical purity of 95.86 ± 2.45 and 97.45 ± 0.69%,
respectively. The probe displayed good stability in vitro and binding specificity to RAW264.7 macrophage cells. In the biodistribution
studies, 99mTc-DTPA-CB86 exhibited rapid inflammatory ankle
accumulation. At 180 min after administration, 99mTc-DTPA-CB86
uptakes of the left inflammatory ankle were 2.35 ± 0.10 percentage
of the injected radioactivity per gram of tissue (% ID/g), significantly
higher than those of the normal tissues. 99mTc-SPECT imaging
studies revealed that 99mTc-DTPA-CB86 could clearly identify
the left inflammatory ankle with good contrast at 30–180 min
after injection. Therefore, 99mTc-DTPA-CB86 may be a promising
probe for arthritis 99mTc-SPECT imaging.