TY - JOUR A1 - Lisy, M.-R. A1 - Goermar, A. A1 - Thomas, C. A1 - Pauli, Jutta A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Kaiser, W.A. A1 - Hilger, I. T1 - In Vivo Near-infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Carcinoembryonic Antigen-expressing Tumor Cells in Mice JF - Radiology N2 - Purpose: To prospectively depict carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-expressing tumors in mice with a high-affinity probe consisting of a near-infrared (NIR) fluorochrome and the clinically used anti-CEA antibody fragment arcitumomab. Materials and Methods: This study was approved by the regional animal committee. By coupling a NIR fluorescent (NIRF) cyanine dye (DY-676) to a specific antibody fragment directed against CEA (arcitumomab) and a nonspecific IgG Fab fragment, a bio-optical high-affinity fluorescent probe (anti-CEA–DY-676) and a low-affinity fluorescent probe (FabIgG–DY-676) were designed. The dye-to-protein ratios were determined, and both probes were tested for NIRF imaging in vitro on CEA-expressing LS-174T human colonic adenocarcinoma cells and CEA-nonexpressing A-375 human melanoma cells by using a bio-optical NIR small-animal imager. In vivo data of xenografted LS-174T and A-375 tumors in mice (n = 10) were recorded and statistically analyzed (Student t test). Results: The dye-to-protein ratios were determined as 3.0–3.5 for both probes. In vitro experiments revealed the specific binding of the anti-CEA–DY-676 probe on CEA-expressing cells as compared with CEA-nonexpressing cells; the FabIgG–DY-676 probe showed a markedly lower binding affinity to cells. In vivo LS-174T tumors xenografted in all mice could be significantly distinguished from A-375 tumors with application of the anti-CEA–DY-676 but not with that of the FabIgG–DY-676 at different times (2–24 hours, P < .005) after intravenous injection of the probes. Semiquantitative analysis revealed maximal fluorescence signals of anti-CEA–DY-676 to CEA-expressing tumors about 8 hours after injection. Conclusion: Findings of this study indicate the potential use of the high-affinity probe anti-CEA–DY-676 for specific NIRF imaging in in vivo tumor diagnosis. KW - Fluorescence spectroscopy KW - NIR fluorescent dye KW - NIRF imaging KW - Antibogy fragment arcitumomab KW - Carcinoembryonic antigen PY - 2008 DO - https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2472070123 SN - 0033-8419 SN - 1527-1315 VL - 247 IS - 3 SP - 779 EP - 787 PB - Radiological Society of North America CY - Oak Brook, Ill. AN - OPUS4-17629 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -