Radiolabeling of bioactive peptides of laminin-111 with iodine: relevance for the breast cancer study

Abstract

Breast cancer has been considered a public health problem because it is the second most common type of tumor in women. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), currently more than 14 million people develop breast cancer each year, and this number is expected to increase to more than 21 million by 2030. In the last decade, radiolabeled peptides are being used both in therapy and in the image of tumors because they are a great promise in the labelling tumorigenic cells. Several studies have shown that biologically active peptides derived from laminin-111 regulate gene expression in breast cancer including the C16 peptide (KAFDITYVRLKF) and the YIGSR peptide. The present project aims at the synthesis of these peptides radiolabelled with I-131, as well as their evaluation for the treatment and / or labelling of tumor cells. To reach this goal, the first part of the project involves the chemical and physical stages, where the synthesis and radiolabelling of peptides will be performed for further evaluation of the affinity of peptide chains for the desired target. The second step has biological implications, where the interaction of these peptides with the tumor cells will be evaluated through the binding affinity of the radiolabeled peptides to tumorigenic cells. In parallel, studies of stability, lipophilicity and binding to serum proteins will be performed. The early detection of tumorigenic cells related to breast cancer should bring advances in the treatment of this disease that affects millions of people in the world.