The accumulation of α-synuclein aggregates (α-syn) in the human brain is an occurrence common to all α-synucleinopathies. Non-invasive detection of these aggregates in a living brain with a target-specific radiotracer is not yet possible. We have recently discovered that the inclusion of a methylenedioxy group in the structure of diarylbisthiazole (DABTA)-based tracers improves binding affinity and selectivity to α-syn. Subsequently, complementary in silico modeling and machine learning (ML) of tracer–protein interactions were employed to predict surface sites and structure–property relations for the binding of the ligands. Based on this observation, we developed a small focused library of DABTAs from which 4-(benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-4′-(3-[18F]fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)-2,2′-bithiazole [18F]d2, 6-(4′-(3-[18F]fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)-[2,2′-bithiazol]-4-yl)-[1,3]dioxolo[4,5-b]pyridine [18F]d4, 4-(benzo [d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-4′-(6-[18F]fluoropyridin-3-yl)-2,2′-bithiazole [18F]d6, and 6-(4′-(6-[18F]fluoropyridin-3-yl)-[2,2′-bithiazol]-4-yl)-[1,3]dioxolo[4,5-b]pyridine [18F]d8 were selected based on their high binding affinity to α-syn and were further evaluated. Binding assay experiments carried out with the non-radioactive versions of the above tracers d2, d4, d6, and d8 showed high binding affinity of the ligands to α-syn: 1.22, 0.66, 1.21, and 0.10 nM, respectively, as well as excellent selectivity over β-amyloid plaques (Aβ) and microtubular tau aggregates (>200-fold selectivity). To obtain the tracers, their precursors were radiolabeled either via an innovative ruthenium-mediated (SNAr) reaction ([18F]d2 and [18F]d4) or typical SNAr reaction ([18F]d6 and [18F]d8) with moderate-to-high radiochemical yields (13% – 40%), and high molar activity > 60 GBq/μmol. Biodistribution experiments carried out with the tracers in healthy mice revealed that [18F]d2 and [18F]d4 showed suboptimal brain pharmacokinetics: 1.58 and 4.63 %ID/g at 5 min post-injection (p.i.), and 1.93 and 3.86 %ID/g at 60 min p.i., respectively. However, [18F]d6 and [18F]d8 showed improved brain pharmacokinetics: 5.79 and 5.13 %ID/g at 5 min p.i.; 1.75 and 1.07 %ID/g at 60 min p.i.; and 1.04 and 0.58 %ID/g at 120 min p.i., respectively. The brain uptake kinetics of [18F]d6 and [18F]d8 were confirmed in a dynamic PET study. Both tracers also showed no brain radiometabolites at 20 min p.i. in initial in vivo stability experiments carried out in healthy mice. [18F]d8 seems very promising based on its binding properties and in vivo stability, thus encouraging further validation of its usefulness as a radiotracer for the in vivo visualization of α-syn in preclinical and clinical settings. Additionally, in silico and ML-predicted values correlated with the experimental binding affinity of the ligands.
α-突触核蛋白(α-syn)在人类大脑中的聚集是所有α-突触核蛋白病变的共同现象。目前还无法使用特定靶向放射性示踪剂在活体大脑中非侵入性地检测这些聚集。我们最近发现,在二芳基双噻唑(DABTA)基础示踪剂的结构中包含亚甲二氧基基团可以提高与α-syn的结合亲和力和选择性。随后,我们采用补充的in silico建模和机器学习(ML)来预测配体结合的表面位点和结构-性质关系。基于这一观察,我们开发了一系列小型DABTA库,其中4-(苯并[d][1,3]二氧杂环-5-基)-4'-(3-[18F]氟-4-甲氧基苯基)-2,2'-双噻唑[18F]d2,6-(4'-(3-[18F]氟-4-甲氧基苯基)-[2,2'-双噻唑]-4-基)-[1,3]二氧杂杂环[4,5-b]吡啶[18F]d4,4-(苯并[d][1,3]二氧杂环-5-基)-4'-(6-[18F]氟吡啶-3-基)-2,2'-双噻唑[18F]d6和6-(4'-(6-[18F]氟吡啶-3-基)-[2,2'-双噻唑]-4-基)-[1,3]二氧杂杂环[4,5-b]吡啶[18F]d8基于它们对α-syn的高结合亲和力而被选择并进一步评估。使用上述示踪剂的非放射性版本进行结合测定实验表明,这些配体对α-syn具有很高的结合亲和力:分别为1.22、0.66、1.21和0.10 nM,并且对β-淀粉样斑块(Aβ)和微管蛋白tau聚集物具有极高的选择性(>200倍选择性)。为获得这些示踪剂,它们的前体物通过创新的铑介导的(SNAr)反应([18F]d2和[18F]d4)或典型的SNAr反应([18F]d6和[18F]d8)进行放射性标记,并具有中等到高的放射化学收率(13% - 40%)和高的摩尔活性>60 GBq/μmol。在健康小鼠中进行的示踪剂生物分布实验表明,[18F]d2和[18F]d4显示出亚优的脑药代动力学:分别为5分钟后的1.58和4.63%ID/g,以及60分钟后的1.93和3.86%ID/g。然而,[18F]d6和[18F]d8显示出改善的脑药代动力学:分别为5分钟后的5.79和5.13%ID/g,60分钟后的1.75和1.07%ID/g,以及120分钟后的1.04和0.58%ID/g。[18F]d6和[18F]d8的脑摄取动力学在动态PET研究中得到确认。这两种示踪剂在健康小鼠中的初始in vivo稳定性实验中也没有脑放射代谢物。基于其结合性能和in vivo稳定性,[18F]d8似乎非常有前途,因此鼓励进一步验证其作为α-syn活体内可视化示踪剂在临床前和临床设置中的有用性。此外,in silico和ML预测值与配体的实验结合亲和力相关。