Comparative tissue distribution in mice of the alpha-emitter 211At and 131I as labels of a monoclonal antibody and F(ab')2 fragment.

Because it decays by the emission of short-range, high-energy alpha-particles, the radiohalogen 211At might be a particularly useful nuclide for some types of radioimmunotherapy. However, no suitable gamma-emitting nuclide of astatine exists which would permit either imaging prior to therapy to obtain radiation dosimetry estimates or performing experiments in paired-label format. Since iodine is the halogen above astatine in the periodic table, we investigated whether the in vivo distribution of 131I could be used to mimic the biodistribution of 211At. In this study, the N-succinimidyl 3-(trialkylstannyl)benzoate method was used to label C110 IgG, an antibody directed against carcinoembryonic antigen, and its (Fab')2 fragment with 211At and 131I. Paired-label experiments were performed in normal mice comparing the tissue distribution of 211At- versus 131I-labeled C110 IgG and F(ab')2 as well as [211At]astatide versus [131I]iodide and m-[211At]astatobenzoic acid versus m-[131I]iodobenzoic acid, potential catabolites of proteins radiohalogenated via the N-succinimidyl 3-(trialkylstannyl)benzoate method. With the exception of thyroid, retention of astatide in tissues was higher than that of iodide; and, with the halobenzoic acids, uptake of 211At was higher than 135I in thyroid, stomach, and spleen. Use of the N-succinimidyl 3-(trialkylstannyl)benzoate method to label C110 IgG with 211At and 131I resulted in similar distributions of the two nuclides. In contrast, loss of 211At from the F(ab')2 fragment was considerably more rapid than 131I, suggesting that different astatination methods may be required for use with F(ab')2 fragments.