PET Imaging of GPR44 by Antagonist [<sup>11</sup>C]MK-7246 in Pigs
2021
Pierre Cheung | Bo Zhang | Emmi Puuvuori | Sergio Estrada | Mohammad A. Amin | Sofie Ye | Olle Korsgren | Luke R. Odell | Jonas Eriksson | Olof Eriksson
A validated imaging marker for beta-cell mass would improve understanding of diabetes etiology and enable new strategies in therapy development. We previously identified the membrane-spanning protein GPR44 as highly expressed and specific to the beta cells of the pancreas. The selective GPR44 antagonist MK-7246 was radiolabeled with carbon-11 and the resulting positron-emission tomography (PET) tracer [<sup>11</sup>C]MK-7246 was evaluated in a pig model and in vitro cell lines. The [<sup>11</sup>C]MK-7246 compound demonstrated mainly hepatobiliary excretion with a clearly defined pancreas, no spillover from adjacent tissues, and pancreatic binding similar in magnitude to the previously evaluated GPR44 radioligand [<sup>11</sup>C]AZ12204657. The binding could be blocked by preadministration of nonradioactive MK-7246, indicating a receptor-binding mechanism. [<sup>11</sup>C]MK-7246 showed strong potential as a PET ligand candidate for visualization of beta-cell mass (BCM) and clinical translation of this methodology is ongoing.
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