ImmunoPET Imaging of CD47 with VHH-Derived Tracers in Pancreatic Cancers

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a malignant tumor with insidious onset, rapid progression, and a very poor prognosis. CD47 is a transmembrane protein associated with the development and poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of novel immunoPET tracers targeting CD47 in preclinical pancreatic cancer models. The association of CD47 expression with pancreatic cancer was analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis platform. Immunohistochemical analysis of tissue microarrays was performed to detect CD47 expression in PDAC. CD47 expression levels on BxPC-3 and AsPC-1 cell membranes were compared using flow cytometry. A VHH (C2)-targeting human CD47 and its albumin-binding derivative (ABDC2) were labeled with ⁶⁸Ga or ⁸⁹Zr, respectively. The developed tracers were evaluated by immuno-positron emission tomography (immunoPET) imaging in tumor-bearing nude and CD47-humanized mice. [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-NOTA-C2 effectively detected tumor lesions in nude mice models and further showed confirmative imaging capacity in CD47-humanized PDAC models. Compared with [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-NOTA-C2, [⁸⁹Zr]Zr-DFO-ABDC2 had a significantly prolonged circulation time, increased tumor uptake, and reduced accumulation in the kidneys. Finally, biodistribution and histological staining confirmed the results of the immunoPET imaging studies. In this study, we validated that two novel VHH-derived molecular imaging tracers for immunoPET imaging ([⁶⁸Ga]Ga-NOTA-C2 and [⁸⁹Zr]Zr-DFO-ABDC2) can effectively annotate CD47 expression and diagnose PDAC in a target-specific manner. Clinical application of the imaging strategies may help select patients for CD47-targeted therapies and assess the response thereafter.