2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Novel positron emission tomography imaging targeting cell surface glycans for pancreatic cancer: 18F-labeled rBC2LCN lectin

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	20K20467
Project/Area Number (Other)	19H05557 (2019)
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Pioneering)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund (2020) Single-year Grants (2019)
Review Section	Medium-sized Section 50:Oncology and related fields
Research Institution	University of Tsukuba
Principal Investigator	ODA Tatsuya 筑波大学, 医学医療系, 教授 (20282353)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	舘野浩章国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域, 研究グループ長 (30450670) 籏野健太郎筑波大学, 医学医療系, 准教授 (50228475) 森健作筑波大学, 医学医療系, 准教授 (80361343)
Project Period (FY)	2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	レクチン / PET / 糖鎖 / 膵癌
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Advancement in early detection is essential for improving the prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). To address this, we developed a novel PET imaging technology using tumor-specific lectin probes targeting cell surface glycans. The combination of rBC2LCN lectin and fluorine-18 ([18F]FB-rBC2LCN) resulted in high-contrast PET imaging in a PDAC xenograft mouse model. [18F]N-succinimidyl-4-fluorobenzoate ([18F]SFB) was conjugated to rBC2LCN, achieving radiochemical purity over 95%. [18F]FB-rBC2LCN specifically binds to H-type-3-positive Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells. In nude mice with Capan-1 tumors, this probe showed significant tumor uptake as early as 60 min post-injection, with uptake increasing over time. Tumor-to-muscle ratios also improved, achieving a maximum at 360 min. High-contrast PET imaging was achieved early and improved over time, indicating that 18F-labeled rBC2LCN lectin has significant potential for clinical use for detecting PDAC imaging diagnosis.
Free Research Field	腫瘍外科学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究の社会的意義は、従来の抗原抗体反応ではなく、レクチンと糖鎖の特異的な結合反応を利用した新しい診断技術の開発にある。がん細胞表面を覆う糖鎖は、その分化度や悪性度に応じて特徴的に修飾されており、これを標的とすることで、より高精度な診断が可能となる。特に膵臓癌に対しては、レクチンrBC2がH type 3糖鎖を認識し、高い特異性を示すことが確認されている。この新技術により、膵臓癌の早期発見が可能となり、患者の予後改善に寄与することが期待される。非侵襲的なこの方法は、患者の負担軽減や医療コストの削減にも寄与し、がん診断の革新をもたらす可能性がある。