Radioiodination of internalizing monoclonal antibodies using N-succinimidyl 5-iodo-3-pyridinecarboxylate.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that internalize following binding to cell-surface receptors require radiolabeling approaches that minimize loss of radioactivity from the cell after intracellular processing. One class of internalizing mAbs of great interest for imaging and radioimmunotherapy are those specific for EGFRvIII, a truncated form of the epidermal growth factor receptor found on gliomas, non-small cell lung carcinomas, breast carcinomas, and ovarian carcinomas. Because lysosomes are known to retain positively charged compounds, N-succinimidyl 5-iodo-3-pyridinecarboxylate (SIPC) might be ideal for radioiodination of these mAbs because of the positive charge on its pyridine ring. To investigate this hypothesis, the anti-EGFRvIII mAb L8A4 was labeled using SIPC, and internalization assays were performed using the EGFRvIII-positive cell lines HC2 20 d2 and NR6M. Compared with L8A4 labeled using Iodogen or N-succinimidyl 3-iodobenzoate, SIPC increased intracellular retention of activity by up to 65%. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography analyses indicated that a significantly higher fraction of the low molecular weight catabolites from mAbs labeled via SIPC were retained within cells (SIPC, 28.1%; Iodogen, 7.6% at 1 h). With SIPC, the primary labeled species in cell lysates was the 5-iodonicotinic acid (INA)-lysine conjugate, whereas in the supernatant, both INA-lysine and INA were seen. A 3-4-fold higher percentage of these catabolites were charged at lysosomal pH in comparison with those from mAb labeled using N-succinimidyl 3-iodobenzoate, in concert with the differences in cellular retention observed between these two labeling methods. In mice bearing HC2 20 d2 xenografts, a significant improvement in tumor retention of radioiodine and tumor:normal tissue ratios was seen when L8A4 was labeled using SIPC instead of the Iodogen method. These results suggest that SIPC is a promising reagent for the radioiodination of anti-EGFRvIII L8A4 and, possibly, other internalizing mAbs.