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Radionuclide-antibody conjugates for single-cell cytotoxicity.

BACKGROUND: Radioimmunotherapy has primarily utilized high-energy beta-particles, which are intended to kill macroscopic tumor masses. Such conjugates do not kill single cells or micrometastases efficiently. For killing single cells, it may be preferable to use radiation with a much shorter path length, such as alpha-particles or Auger or conversion electrons. METHODS: This selective review focuses on the use of radiolabeled antibody (Ab) conjugates to achieve single-cell kill. The advantages and disadvantages of particular types of radionuclides, the significance of intracellular localization of the Ab, and the potential clinical application of this approach are discussed. Potentially useful radionuclides are listed. RESULTS: Auger and conversion electrons can kill cells effectively, with at least 6 logs of cell kill. Abs on the cell surface are only slightly less potent than Abs internalized into the cytoplasm, and this is consistent with theoretical considerations. alpha-Particles kill single cells very effectively, but the short half-lives of the available alpha-particle emitters are probably a disadvantage. High-energy beta-particles can also kill single cells if they bind in sufficient amounts, but their disadvantage appears to be greater nonspecific toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Single-cell kill can be obtained with radionuclide-Ab conjugates. The selection of the optimal radionuclide may depend on the details of the clinical situation, such as the size and accessibility of the tumor burden, and the particular Ab to be used. Direct comparisons of various radionuclides are required in order to identify the optimal approach. However, for single-cell kill, as required for therapy of micrometastases, the use of Auger and conversion electron emitters appears to have substantial advantages. While current methods limit the applicability of this approach to Abs having a high level of binding, it may be applicable to lower-density antigens if higher specific activities or more potent radionuclides can be used. Tumor cure may require a mixture of radionuclides intended to kill both single cells and large tumor masses.

Alpha Particles↗

177Lu-antibody conjugates for single-cell kill of B-lymphoma cells in vitro and for therapy of micrometastases in vivo.

Antibodies (Abs) conjugated to 177Lu, a relatively low-energy beta-particle emitter, were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxic activity and in vivo for their therapeutic activity against disseminated B-cell lymphoma xenografts in SCID mice. 177Lu was compared with other beta-particle emitters ((131)I and 90Y), and also with emitters of low-energy electrons (LEEs, meaning Auger and conversion electrons of < 50 keV). The Abs used reacted with CD20, CD74 or HLA-DR, and the target cell was the Raji B lymphoma. Like the other beta-particle emitters, 177Lu was a potent and specific toxic agent in vitro, when conjugated to Abs recognizing high-density antigens. It appeared to be slightly less potent than (131)I per decay, but this difference was relatively small, and would not be a major factor in the selection of the optimal radionuclide for clinical use. The nonspecific toxicity from 177Lu was less than from 90Y, but 177Lu still produced greater nonspecific toxicity in vitro than LEE emitters. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of 177Lu-anti-CD74 in SCID mice was 1.81 MBq (49 microCi)/mouse. When this dose was administered on day 5 after tumor inoculation, significant protection was obtained, but considerably less than the protection obtained in previous experiments with LEE emitters (111)In and 67Ga. In conclusion, 177Lu has advantages over other available beta-particle emitters as a therapeutic agent, but its efficacy in the treatment of micrometastases seems to be less than that of LEE emitters, due to greater nonspecific toxicity. This conclusion, however, may not apply to therapy of macroscopic tumors.

Animals↗

Chromosome aberrations induced by tritiated water or 60Co gamma-rays at early pronuclear stage in mouse eggs.

The induction of chromosome aberrations in mouse eggs by exposure to HTO beta-particles and 60Co gamma-rays at the early pronuclear stage was examined at the first-cleavage metaphase by using an in vitro fertilization technique. Eggs at the pronuclear stage were exposed to beta-particles in a chemically defined medium containing tritiated water (HTO) for 2 h at 3-5 h after insemination. Other eggs at the same stage were exposed to gamma-rays from 60Co during the same period. The dose-response relationships for frequencies of chromosome aberrations per egg were fitted to a linear-quadratic model for HTO beta-particles, and to a linear model for 60Co gamma-rays. The chromosome aberrations were mainly chromosome-type, and the majority of all aberrations were fragments. RBE values of HTO beta-particles relative to 60Co gamma-rays and acute X-rays, which were estimated from the ratio of the linear regression coefficients over 0.05-Gy range, were 2.0 and 1.6, respectively.

Animals↗

Reconstruction of external dose from beta radiation sources of nuclear weapon origin.

In response to requests from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a methodology was developed to assess the external dose accrued by personnel in the vicinity of beta radiation sources of nuclear weapon origin. This methodology has been applied in support of the Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) Program implemented by the Department of Defense. As required by the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 32, Part 218 and Title 38, Part 3.311), the NTPR Program must evaluate radiological hazards from nuclear testing activities that include alpha particle, beta particle, neutron, and photon emissions from radionuclides. Prior to the development of this methodology, only photon and neutron radiations were explicitly quantified for external dose assessments in this program. Alpha radiation of external origin presents no risk for biological effects due to external dose potential to skin tissue because of the particle's very limited range. However, beta particles are sufficiently penetrating to have such potential. Methods are provided to quantify ionizing radiation doses to the skin and lens of the eye from beta radiation sources of nuclear weapon origin located external to the body. This formulation allows the estimation of beta dose from a film badge (gamma) dose or from an equivalent reconstructed gamma dose.

Algorithms↗

Protection by DMSO against cell death caused by intracellularly localized iodine-125, iodine-131 and polonium-210.

The mechanisms by which DNA-incorporated radionuclides impart lethal damage to mammalian cells were investigated by examining the capacity of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to protect against lethal damage to Chinese hamster V79 cells caused by unbound tritium ((3)H(2)O), DNA-incorporated (125)I- and (131)I-iododeoxyuridine ((125)IdU, (131)IdU), and cytoplasmically localized (210)Po citrate. The radionuclides (3)H and (131)I emit low- and medium-energy beta particles, respectively, (125)I is a prolific Auger electron emitter, and (210)Po emits 5.3 MeV alpha particles. Cells were radiolabeled and maintained at 10.5 degrees C for 72 h in the presence of different concentrations of DMSO (5-12.5% v/v), and the surviving fraction compared to that of unlabeled controls was determined. DMSO afforded no protection against the lethal effects of the high-LET alpha particles emitted by (210)Po. Protection against lethal damage caused by unbound (3)H, (131)IdU and (125)IdU depended on the concentration of DMSO in the culture medium. Ten percent DMSO provided maximum protection in all cases. The dose modification factors obtained at 10% DMSO for (3)H(2)O, (131)IdU, (125)IdU and (210)Po citrate were 2.9 +/- 0.01, 2.3 +/- 0.5, 2.6 +/- 0.2 and 0.95 +/- 0.07, respectively. These results indicate that the toxicity of Auger electron and beta-particle emitters incorporated into the DNA of mammalian cells is largely radical-mediated and is therefore indirect in nature. This is also the case for the low-energy beta particles emitted by (3)H(2)O. In contrast, alpha particles impart lethal damage largely by direct effects. Finally, calculations of cellular absorbed doses indicate that beta-particle emitters are substantially more toxic when incorporated into the DNA of mammalian cells than when they are localized extracellularly.

Animals↗

Electro-optic characteristics of aqueous beta-FeOOH particles.

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the electro-optic behavior of suspensions of noninteracting monodisperse beta-FeOOH particles. The electro-optic parameters are determined for aqueous suspensions of the oxide particles and the influences of surface charge and Debye layer thickness are verified. Since the conventional method of frequency analysis is inconsistent in the low-frequency range, new electro-optic parameters are introduced to define the frequency variation of the effects. Electric polarizability is determined with precision to a constant, and its relative variations are followed. As reported for other oxides, electric polarizability correlates with charge variations in the diffuse part of the particle surface electric layer, and its relaxation frequency increases with surface charge density, indicating a Maxwell-Wagner type of surface polarization. The alternating component of the responses yields particle relaxation frequency and the phase shift of the responses at this frequency. For all studied samples the phase shift at particle relaxation frequency is 45 degrees. The relative changes in the steady component of the responses in the low-frequency range are followed by field intensity curves at characteristic frequencies of the samples. Electrophoretic rotation is the process consistent with our data for the low-frequency effect. The results show that it is enhanced by the combined actions of low or slowly relaxing polarizability and significant electrophoretic mobility.

Journal Article↗

Electrooptics of beta-FeOOH Particles in Aqueous Media.

Reversing-pulse electric birefringence (RPEB) of a nearly monodisperse iron(III) hydroxide oxide sample in the beta-form (beta-FeOOH) was measured at 25 degrees C and at a wavelength of 633 nm in aqueous media in the presence of NaCl. The concentrations of beta-FeOOH and added NaCl varied between 0.00111 and 0.0555 g/L and 0.03 and 2.0 mM, respectively. Except for the suspensions with high salt concentrations, each RPEB signal showed a dip or minimum in the reverse process upon electric field reversal, together with a smooth rise in the buildup and a fall in the decay process. The observed signals were analyzed with a new RPEB theory, which takes into account not only the permanent electric dipole moment (µ) but also the root-mean-square ionic dipole moment ( (1/2)) due to the ion fluctuation in ion atmosphere, in addition to the field-induced electronic (covalent) dipole moment Deltaalpha' E. The results showed that the slowly fluctuating moment of (1/2) is by far the most predominant one for the field orientation of the beta-FeOOH particle, though the permanent dipole moment µ may not be completely excluded. The rotational relaxation time of the whole particle was evaluated from the decay signal, while the relaxation time for fluctuating ions was estimated from RPEB signal fitting. The sign of the steady-state birefringence for beta-FeOOH suspensions was positive without exception under the present conditions. The birefringence signals in the steady state (delta/d) were proportional to the second power of the applied field strength (E) in the low field region; thus, the Kerr law was verified to hold for beta-FeOOH suspensions. The specific Kerr constant was evaluated for each suspension by extrapolating the values of delta/d to zero field (E-->0). Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗

Intercomparison measurements of extremity dosemeters in beta and/or photon radiation fields.

Beta dosimetry, especially at the extremities, is gaining in importance due to the increasing use of beta particle sources, e.g. in brachytherapy. The dosimetric properties of personal dosemeters to be worn on the extremities and capable of measuring the personal dose equivalent, Hp(0.07), in beta and/or photon radiation fields were investigated within the scope of intercomparison measurements organised by the PTB in two steps. The results were evaluated on the basis of recommendations from the German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK). In the first step 10 types of dosemeter were investigated in beta particle fields in a range of mean energies from 0.06 MeV to 0.8 MeV. In the second step, five selected beta dosemeter types were exposed to beta particles and, in addition, to photons and to mixtures of both. Three dosemeters fulfill the requirements for the whole range of mean beta energy used for the intercomparison and meet the requirements for photon radiation from 8 keV to 662 keV.

Arm↗

A miniature MOSFET radiation dosimeter probe.

Prototype miniature dosimeter probes have been designed, built, and characterized employing a small, radiation sensitive metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) chip to measure, in vivo, the total accumulated dose and dose rate as a function of time after internal administration of long range beta particle radiolabeled antibodies and in external high energy photon and electron beams. The MOSFET detector is mounted on a long narrow alumina substrate to facilitate electrical connection. The MOSFET, alumina substrate, and lead wires are inserted into a 16 gauge flexineedle, which, in turn, may be inserted into tissue. The radiation dosimeter probe has overall dimensions of 1.6 mm diam and 3.5 cm length. The MOSFET probe signals are read, stored, and analyzed using an automated data collection and analysis system. Initially, we have characterized the probe's response to long range beta particle emission from 90Y sources in solution and to high energy photon and electron beams from linear accelerators. Since the prototype has a finite substrate thickness, the angular dependence has been studied using beta particle emission from a 90Sr source. Temperature dependence and signal drift have been characterized and may be corrected for. Measurements made in spherical volumes containing 90Y with diameters less than the maximum electron range, to simulate anticipated geometries in animal models, agree well with Berger point kernel and EGS4 Monte Carlo calculations. The results from the prototype probes lead to design requirements for detection of shorter range beta particles used in radioimmunotherapy and lower photon energies used in brachytherapy.

Biophysical Phenomena↗

Application of a continuous channel electron multiplier for measuring gaseous tritium at low pressures.

Some fundamental studies on the application of a continuous channel electron multiplier (channeltron) for monitoring gaseous tritium present in an evacuated vessel at low pressures below 10(-4) Torr were carried out. The results showed that at the tritium pressures lower than 10(-6) Torr the tritium counting rate measured by the channeltron increased linearly, in practice, with increasing tritium pressure, as was expected by assuming that the interactions between beta-particle emitted from tritium and the vessel wall and gaseous molecules during the migration of beta-particle to the channeltron can be ignored. However, in the range of pressures over 10(-5) Torr the measured tritium counting rate was found to be getting smaller than the expected with increase in tritium pressure. This is presumably due to the absorption and scattering of beta-particles by gaseous tritium.

Gases↗

Intracoronary radiation for prevention of restenosis: dose perturbations caused by stents.

BACKGROUND: Intravascular irradiation with beta-emitters has been proposed for inhibition of restenosis in coronary arteries after balloon angioplasty or stent implantation. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of gamma-radiation to prevent recurrent restenosis, even in the presence of an implanted stent. The limited range of beta-particles compared with gamma-radiation, however, opens the question of whether absorption and scattering of beta-particles by stent struts will cause significant perturbations in the uniformity and magnitude of the radiation dose, which may in turn compromise treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS: Nine different stents were deployed with a balloon filled with a beta-emitting radioactive liquid. Dose distributions were measured with Gafchromic film. Stents varied significantly in their absorption of beta-particles. Some stents, constructed of fine meshed wires, produced minimal dose perturbations. Others, with thicker, high-atomic-number struts, induced cold spots in the dose distribution adjacent to the wires of </=35%. Average dose reduction varied from 4% to 14% in the presence of various stents. CONCLUSIONS: Radiation strategy may have to be tailored to stent design. Stents that minimally perturb the dose distribution may be deployed before irradiation. Those that significantly alter the radiation dose might be better deployed after irradiation. Dose prescriptions may require modification if such perturbations prove clinically significant. Observed dose perturbations, however, decreased rapidly with increasing distance from the stent, which may mitigate the clinical impact of these findings. This, as well as the effects of stents on gamma-dose distributions, requires further investigation.

Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary↗

Fine tuning the production of nanosized beta-carotene particles using spinning disk processing.

Nanoparticles of trans-beta-carotene are accessible using spinning disk processing (SDP), by varying the reaction conditions and the choice of surfactant, macrocyclic amphiphiles, sulfonato-calix[4,5,6,8]arenes, and alpha,beta-cyclodextrins. SDP ensures rapid mixing and fast kinetics, and nanoparticles of the carotene formed in the presence of the calixarenes are stable with respect to extraction of the carotene into an organic solvent, unlike in the presence of the cyclodextrins. Insight into the supramolecular structure of the carotene nanoparticles has also been established. The mean particle sizes (dynamic light scattering, DLS) have been optimized at 40(2) and 56(1) nm and 71.4(6) and 82(1) nm, respectively, for each sulfonato-calix[5,6 and 4,8]arene, whereas the cyclodextrins form nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 71(1) and 68.5(6) nm, respectively. Zeta-potential studies show stability of all the colloidal dispersions at pH > 4 with values below -30 mV. UV-visible spectroscopy shows a blue shift indicative of H-aggregates of the carotene within the nanoparticles. The surface area derived from BET studies is 39.12 m(2)/g corresponding to particles of 76.7(5) nm in diameter, in agreement with sizes obtained from DLS and TEM measurements.

Antioxidants↗

Expression of vasopressin receptors in hamster hypothalamus is sexually dimorphic and dependent upon photoperiod.

The distribution of vasopressin receptors was studied in the brain of a photoperiodic animal, the Siberian hamster. Attention was focused on [3H]vasopressin binding sites located in the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus, medial tuberal nucleus, and ventral premammillary nucleus in males or females kept in long or short photoperiod conditions. Displacement experiments with structural analogs suggested that vasopressin receptors in the hamster hypothalamus are of the vasopressor (V1) type. Quantitative data obtained with a gaseous detector of beta-particles indicated that in the ventromedial nucleus and in the ventral premammillary nucleus of animals in long photoperiod, the number of beta-particles emitted per unit area was significantly greater in males than in females. In the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, in both males and females, the number of beta-particles emitted was significantly lower in short than in long photoperiod conditions. In the ventral premammillary nucleus, shortening of the photoperiod had a significant effect in reducing the amount of [3H]vasopressin bound in females, but not in males. These data suggest that, in the hamster, the control of the expression of vasopressin receptors differs among various hypothalamic nuclei and may depend on the sex and/or on the level of circulating gonadal steroids.

Animals↗

Glycogen particles in methionine sulfoximine epileptogenic rodent brain and liver after the administration of methionine and actinomycin D.

Rats and mice were submitted either to the convulsant methionine sulfoximine (MSO) alone or to MSO combined with actinomycin D or methionine respectively. Twenty-four hours after the intraperitoneal administration of these compounds, the animals were killed and tissue samples were prepared for electron microscopy. Methionine sulfoximine induced 'grand mal' type seizures which were abolished by methionine. In saline controls, glycogen was as beta particles located in the cytoplasm of astrocytes, i.e. in perikarya and processes. Liver glycogen was as perinuclear masses of alpha and beta particles or as alpha particles scattered in all the cytoplasm. When the rodents were treated with MSO, glycogen was as alpha and beta particles which invaded all areas of the astrocyte cytoplasm, this increase being tremendous in perivascular end feet. Actinomycin D slowed down the accumulation of glycogen particles while methionine completely abolished it. In any case, glycogen particles were confined to the astrocytes and were never seen in other types of cells. In liver, MSO induced an important decrease or a complete disappearance of glycogen particles. When the convulsant was combined with actinomycin D or with methionine, the figures looked like those of controls. These results have been discussed in relation to the mechanism of glycogenesis in central nervous system of rodents submitted to MSO.

Animals↗

A Monte Carlo calculation of dosimetric parameters of 90Sr/90Y and 192Ir SS sources for intravascular brachytherapy.

The AAPM TG-60 report has proposed various dose calculation parameters for intravascular brachytherapy (IVBT). These parameters include the dose rate constant (or the dose rate at a reference position for a beta-particle emitting source), the radial dose function, and the anisotropy function. In this work, we have used a modified EGS4 Monte Carlo system to calculate these parameters for the two most commonly used IVBT sources (the beta-particle emitting 90Sr/90Y source and the photon emitting 192Ir SS source). To ensure the calculation accuracy, the present calculation was compared with several measurements and calculations reported by other authors. Excellent agreement was found for the results with the photon source. For beta-particle source calculation, the present results for a variety of point sources agree very well with a previous work. The presently calculated radial dose functions for the 90Sr/90Y source are consistent with those of a published work for intermediate radial distances. The dose uniformity in the axial direction was also studied. The contributions of bremsstrahlung photons to total doses for the 90Sr/90Y beta source, and the influence of ignoring electron transport on calculated doses for the 192Ir SS photon source are discussed.

Brachytherapy↗

Radiation-induced systemic and local bone tumors: two types of late effects with possible different origins?

Bone sarcomas may be induced throughout the skeleton (systemic) in mice by relatively low internal alpha-particle doses that are distributed over the whole skeleton. The induction of local (periosteal) bone sarcomas after paratibial deposition of insoluble radiocolloids required much higher doses, and in addition high energies of emitted particles. Paratibial deposition of alpha-particle-emitting radiocolloids of 227Th and 228Th resulted in formation of both local and systemic bone sarcomas. The latter were most probably induced by the released radium daughters of the thorium isotopes and were distributed about the skeleton. Paratibial injections with beta-particle emitters 144Ce+ 144Pr (29 kBq per mouse) showed an incidence of local bone sarcomas of more than 80%. An estimation of the local effective doses led to values of more than 1000 Gy for the beta-particle emitter 144Ce and around 150 Gy for the thorium isotopes. Thus induction of local bone sarcomas required doses considerably greater than those needed for systemic bone sarcomas. The local induction of bone sarcomas has been reported for high-energy beta particles using similar high doses of 144Ce+ 144Pr in rats and for external 90Sr+ 90Y irradiation in mice. We conclude that the processes involved in the induction of local and systemic bone sarcomas by radiation may be quite different.

Animals↗

Circular permutation as a tool to reduce surface entropy triggers crystallization of the signal recognition particle receptor beta subunit.

The production of diffraction-quality crystals remains a difficult obstacle on the road to high-resolution structural characterization of proteins. This is primarily a result of the empirical nature of the process. Although crystallization is not predictable, factors inhibiting it are well established. First, crystal formation is always entropically unfavorable. Reducing the entropic cost of crystallizing a given protein is thus desirable. It is common practice to map boundaries and remove unstructured regions surrounding the folded protein domain. However, a problem arises when flexible regions are not at the boundaries but within a domain. Such regions cannot be deleted without adding new restraints to the domain. We encountered this problem during an attempt to crystallize the beta subunit of the eukaryotic signal recognition particle (SRbeta), bearing a long and flexible internal loop. Native SRbeta did not crystallize. However, after circularly permuting the protein by connecting the spatially close N and C termini with a short heptapeptide linker GGGSGGG and removing 26 highly flexible loop residues within the domain, we obtained diffraction-quality crystals. This protein-engineering method is simple and should be applicable to other proteins, especially because N and C termini of protein domains are often close in space. The success of this method profits from prior knowledge of the domain fold, which is becoming increasingly common in today's postgenomic era.

Crystallization↗

Energy response of an imaging plate exposed to standard beta sources.

Imaging plates (IPs) are a reusable media, which when exposed to ionizing radiation, store a latent image that can be read out with a red laser as photostimulated luminescence (PSL). They are widely used as a substitute for X-ray films for diagnostic studies. In diagnostic radiology this technology is known as computed radiography. In this work, the energy response of a commercial IP to beta-particle reference radiation fields used for calibrations at the National Institute of Standards and Technology was investigated. The absorbed dose in the active storage phosphor layer was calculated following the scaling procedure for depth dose for high Z materials with reference to water. It was found that the beta particles from Pm-147 and Kr-85 gave 68% and 24% higher PSL responses than that induced by Sr-90, respectively, which was caused by the different PSL detection efficiencies. In addition, normalized response curves of the IPs as a function of depth in polystyrene were measured and compared with the data measured using extrapolation chamber techniques. The difference between both sets of data resulted from the continuous energy change as the beta particle travels across the material, which leads to a different PSL response.

Brachytherapy↗