Molecular Design of Bisphosphonate-Modified Proteins for Efficient Bone Targeting In Vivo

To establish a rational molecular design for bisphosphonate (BP)-modified proteins for efficient bone targeting, a pharmacokinetic study was performed using a series of alendronate (ALN), a nitrogen-containing BP, modified proteins with various molecular weights and varying degrees of modification. Four proteins with different molecular weight—yeast glutathione reductase (GR; MW: 112,000 Da), bovine serum albumin (BSA; MW: 67,000 Da), recombinant human superoxide dismutase (SOD; MW: 32,000 Da), and chicken egg white lysozyme (LZM; MW: 14,000 Da)—were modified with ALN to obtain ALN-modified proteins. Pharmacokinetic analysis of the tissue distribution of the ALN-modified and unmodified proteins was performed after radiolabeling them with indium-111 ((111)In) by using a bifunctional chelating agent. Calculation of tissue uptake clearances revealed that the bone uptake clearances of (111)In-ALN-modified proteins were proportional to the degree of ALN modification. (111)In-GR-ALN and BSA-ALN, the two high-molecular-weight proteins, efficiently accumulated in bones, regardless of the degree of ALN modification. Approximately 36 and 34% of the dose, respectively, was calculated to be delivered to the bones. In contrast, the maximum amounts taken up by bone were 18 and 13% of the dose for (111)In-SOD-ALN(32) and LZM-ALN(9), respectively, because of their high renal clearance. (111)In-SOD modified with both polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ALN ((111)In-PEG-SOD-ALN) was efficiently delivered to the bone. Approximately 36% of the dose was estimated to be delivered to the bones. In an experimental bone metastasis mouse model, treatment with PEG-SOD-ALN significantly reduced the number of tumor cells in the bone of the mice. These results indicate that the combination of PEG and ALN modification is a promising approach for efficient bone targeting of proteins with a high total-body clearance.