Monitoring Apoptosis of Breast Cancer Xenograft After Paclitaxel Treatment With ^99mTc-Labeled Duramycin SPECT/CT

Our goal was to validate the feasibility of ^99mTc-duramycin as a potential apoptosis probe for monitoring tumor response to paclitaxel in breast cancer xenografts. The binding of ^99mTc-duramycin to phosphatidylethanolamine was validated in vitro using paclitaxel-treated human breast carcinoma MDA-MB-231 cells. Female BALB/c mice (n = 5) bearing breast cancer xenografts were randomized into 2 groups and intraperitoneally injected with 40 mg/kg paclitaxel or phosphate-buffered saline. ^99mTc-duramycin (37-55.5 MBq) was injected at 72 hours posttreatment, and single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography was performed at 2 hours postinjection. Apoptotic cells and activated caspase 3 in explanted tumor tissue were measured by flow cytometry. Cellular ultrastructural changes were assessed by light and transmission electron microscopy. ^99mTc-duramycin with radiochemical purity of >90% exhibited rapid blood clearance and predominantly renal clearance. The tumor-to-muscle ratio in the paclitaxel-treated group (5.29 ± 0.62) was significantly higher than that in the control. Tumor volume was decreased dramatically, whereas tumor uptake of ^99mTc-duramycin (ex vivo) significantly increased following paclitaxel treatment, which was consistent with apoptotic index, histological findings, and ultrastructural changes. Our data demonstrated the feasibility of ^99mTc-duramycin for early detection of apoptosis after paclitaxel chemotherapy in breast carcinoma xenografts.