Radiosynthesis and biological evaluation of an fluorine-18 labeled galactose derivative [18F]FPGal for imaging the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor

Abstract

The asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) is abundantly expressed on the surface of hepatocytes where it recognizes and endocytoses glycoproteins with galactosyl and N-acetylgalactosamine groups. Given its hepatic distribution, the asialoglycoprotein receptor can be targeted by positron imaging agents to study liver function using PET imaging. In this study, the positron imaging agent [18F]FPGal was designed to specifically target hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor and its effectiveness was assessed in in vitro and in vivo models. The radiosynthesis of [18F]FPGal required 50 min with total radiochemical yields of [18F]FPGal from [18F]fluoride as 10% (corrected radiochemical yield). The Kd of [18F]FPGal to ASGPR in HepG2 cells was 1.99 ± 0.05 mM. Uptake values of 0.55% were observed within 30 min of incubation with HepG2 cells, which could be blocked by 200 mM d(+)-galactose (<0.1%). In vivo biodistribution analysis showed that the liver accumulation of [18F]FPGal at 30 min was 4.47 ± 0.96% ID/g in normal mice compared to 1.33 ± 0.07% ID/g in hepatic fibrotic mice (P < 0.01). Reduced uptake in the hepatic fibrosis mouse models was confirmed through PET/CT images at 30 min. Compared to normal mice, the standard uptake value (SUV) in the hepatic fibrosis mice was significantly lower when assessed through dynamic data collection for 1 h. Therefore, [18F]FPGal is a feasible PET probe that provide insight into ASGPR related liver disease.