New halogenated [C-11]WAY analogues, [C-11]6FPWAY and [C-11]6BPWAY - Radiosynthesis and assessment as radioligands for the study of brain 5-HT1A receptors in living monkey

[Carbonyl-C-11]WAY-100635 ([C-11]WAY) is an established radioligand for the study of brain serotonin(1A) (5-HT1A) receptors in living animals and humans with positron emission tomography (PET). There is a recognised need to develop halogenated ligands for 5-HT1A receptors, either for labelling with longer lived fluorine-18 for more widespread application with PET or with iodine-123 for application with single photon emission tomography (SPET). Here we used autoradiography and PET to assess two new halogenated anlogues of WAY, namely 6BPWAY and 6FPWAY [N-(2-(1-(4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-piperazinyl) ethyl))-N-(2-(6-bromo-/fluoro-pyridinyl))cyclohexanecarboxamide] as prospective radioligands, initially using carbon-11 as the radiolabel. Labelling of 6BPWAY and 6FPWAY with carbon-11 was accomplished by acylation of the corresponding secondary amine precursors with [carbonyl-C-11]cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride. After incubation of human brain crysections with [C-11]6BPWAY or [C-11]6FPWAY, the highest accumulation of radioactivity was observed in cortical areas and the hippocampal formation. Both radioligands had high nonspecific binding. There was a rapid accumulation of radioactivity in the monkey brain after intravenous injection of [C-11]6BPWAY and [C-11]6FPWAY. High accumulation of radioactivity was observed in the frontal and temporal cortex and the raphe nuclei, areas known to contain a high density of 5-HT1A receptors. The ratios of radioactivity in receptor-rich temporal cortex to that in receptor poor cerebellum at peak equilibrium were 1.9 (at 10 min) and 3.0 at (at 20 min) for [C-11]6BPWAY and [C-11]6FPWAY, respectively. In pretreatment experiments with high doses of unlabelled WAY, the level of radioactivity in the frontal and temporal cortex and the raphe nuclei was reduced to the same level as in the cerebellum. Radioactive metabolites of [C-11]6FPWAY appeared at a rate similar to those for [C-11]WAY, with 17% of the radioactivity in plasma represented by unchanged radioligand after 40 min. Radioactive metabolites of [C-11]6BPWAY appeared much more slowly. At 40 min after injection 45% of the radioactivity in plasma still represented unchanged radioligand. The results indicate that 6-pyridinyl radiohalogented analogues of WAY are new leads to radioligands for PET or SPET. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved

[carbonyl-C-11]desmethyl-WAY-100635 (DWAY) is a potent and selective radioligand for central 5-HT1A receptors in vitro and in vivo

[carbonyl-C-11]Desmethyl-WAY-100635 (DWAY) is possibly a low-level metabolite appearing in plasma after intravenous administration of [carbonyl(11)C]WAY-100635 to human subjects for positron emission tomographic (PET) imaging of brain 5-HT1A receptors. In this study we set out to assess the ability of DWAY to enter brain in vivo and to elucidate its possible interaction with 5-HT1A receptors. Desmethyl-WAY-100635 was labelled efficiently with carbon-11 (t(1/2) = 20.4 min) in high specific radioactivity by reaction of its descyclohexanecarbonyl analogue with [carbonyl-C-11] cyclohexanecarbonyl chloride. The product was separated in high radiochemical purity by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and formulated for intravenous injection. Rats were injected intravenously with DWAY, sacrificed at known times and dissected to establish radioactivity content in brain tissues. At 60 min after injection, the ratios of radioactivity concentration in each brain region to that in cerebellum correlated with previous in vitro and in vivo measures of 5-HT1A receptor density. The highest ratio was about 22 in hippocampus. Radioactivity cleared rapidly from plasma; HPLC analysis revealed that DWAY represented 55% of the radioactivity in plasma at 5 min and 33% at 30 min. Only polar radioactive metabolites were detected. Subsequently, a cynomolgus monkey was injected intravenously with DWAY and examined by PET. Maximal whole brain uptake of radioactivity was 5.7% of the administered dose at 5 min after injection. The image acquired between 9 and 90 min showed high radioactivity uptake in brain regions rich in 5-HT1A receptors (e.g. frontal cortex and neocortex), moderate uptake in raphe nuclei and low uptake in cerebellum. A transient equilibrium was achieved in cortical regions at about 60 min, when the ratio of radioactivity concentration in frontal cortex to that in cerebellum reached 6. The corresponding ratio for raphe nuclei was about 3. Radioactive metabolites appeared rapidly in plasma, but these were all more polar than DWAY, which represented 52% of the radioactivity in plasma at 4 min and 20% at 55 min. In a second PET experiment, in which a cynomolgus monkey was pretreated with the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, WAY-100635, at 25 min before DWAY injection, radioactivity in all brain regions was reduced to that in cerebellum. Autoradiography of post mortem human brain cryosections after incubation with DWAY successfully delineated 5-HT1A receptor distribution, Receptor-specific binding was eliminated in the presence of the selective 5-HT1A receptor agonist, 8-OH-DPAT [(+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-dipropylaminotetralin]. These findings show that: (a) intravenously administered DWAY is well able to penetrate brain in rat and monkey, (b) DWAY is a highly effective radioligand for brain 5-HT1A receptors in rat and monkey in vivo and for human brain in vitro, and (c) the metabolism and kinetics of DWAY appear favourable to successful biomathematical modelling of acquired PET data. Thus, DWAY warrants further evaluation as a radioligand for PET studies of 5-HT1A receptors in human brain

Characterization of the radioactive metabolites of the 5-HT1A receptor radioligand, [O-methyl-C-11]WAY-100635, in monkey and human plasma by HPLC: Comparison of the behaviour of an identified radioactive metabolite with parent radioligand in monkey using PET

N-(2-(4-(2-Methoxy-phenyl)-1-piperazin-1-yl)ethyl)-N-(2-pyridyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide (WAY-100635), labelled in the O-methyl group with carbon-11 (t(1/2) = 20.4 min), is a promising radioligand for application with positron emission tomography (PET) to the study of 5-HT1A receptors in living human brain. An understanding of the metabolism of this new radioligand is crucial to the development of a biomathematical model for the interpretation of the kinetics of radioactivity uptake in brain in terms of receptor-binding parameters. After intravenous injection of [O-methyl-C-11]WAY-lO0635 into humans, radioactivity was found to clear rapidly from blood and plasma, By using established methods for the analysis of radioactivity in plasma, it was found that intravenously injected [O-methyl-C-11]WAY-lO0635 is rapidly metabolised to more polar radioactive compounds in a cynomolgus monkey and in humans. Thus, at 60 min postinjection, parent radioligand represented 40% and 5% of the radioactivity in monkey and human plasma, respectively. In monkey and human, one of the radioactive metabolites was identified as the descyclohexanecarbonyl analogue of the parent radioligand, namely [O-methyl-C-11]WAY-100634. This compound is known to have high affinity for 5-HT1A receptors and alpha(1)-adrenoceptors. In a PET experiment it was demonstrated that, after IV injection of [O-methyl-C-11]WAY-100634 into a cynomolgus monkey, radioactivity was avidly taken up by brain. Uptake of radioactivity was higher in 5-HT1A receptor-rich frontal cortex than in cerebellum, which is devoid of 5-HT1A receptors. Polar radioactive metabolites appeared in plasma. The results suggest that the use of WAY-100635 labelled with carbon-ii in its cyclohexanecarbonyl moiety may provide enhanced signal contrast in PET studies and a possibility to develop a simple biomathematical model for regional brain radioactivity uptake