Preliminary study on development of radiopharmaceutical for imaging oncological galectin-3

Galectin-3 is a member of the galectin (a carbohydrate binding protein) family of beta-galactoside-binding animal lectins implicated in cell adhesion, tumor invasion and metastasis. Galectin-3 is overexpressed in a wide range of neoplasms, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, and is associated with tumor growth and metastases. Given this fact, radiolabeled galectin-3-targeting molecules may be useful for the noninvasive imaging of tumors expressing galectin-3, as well as for targeted radionuclide therapy. In contrast to large molecules of antibodies, peptides exhibit less toxicity and possess better pharmacokinetic properties such as higher target-to-background ratios and faster blood clearance. The objective of this study will be to develop and characterize a 68Ga-labeled peptide-base radiotracer which may specifically target galectin-3 expression in human carcinoma cells.

Project ID:PG10003-0573
External Project ID:1002001INER080