Brain-penetrating peptide and antibody radioligands for proof-of-concept PET imaging of fibrin in Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is increasingly recognized as a multifactorial disorder with vascular contributions, including a pro-coagulant state marked by fibrin deposition in the brain. Fibrin accumulation may exacerbate cerebral hypoperfusion and neuroinflammation, leading to neurodegeneration. Identifying patients with this pathology could enable targeted anticoagulant therapy. However, current imaging tools lack the specificity and sensitivity to detect fibrin in the brain non-invasively. This study aimed to develop and evaluate brain-penetrating peptide- and antibody-based PET radioligands targeting fibrin to enable individualized treatment strategies in AD.

Results

A fibrin-binding peptide (FBP) was conjugated to the antibody fragment scFv8D3, which targets the transferrin receptor (TfR), to facilitate transcytosis across the blood-brain barrier. FBP-scFv8D3 bound TfR and with modest affinity to fibrin. In vivo studies in Tg-ArcSwe mice, that exhibit fibrin along with brain amyloid-β pathology, and wild-type mice showed that [¹²⁵I]FBP-scFv8D3 retained brain-penetrating properties but did not demonstrate significant fibrin-specific retention. In contrast, the monoclonal antibody 1101 and its bispecific, brain penetrant variant 1101-scFv8D3 exhibited higher fibrin selectivity and TfR binding. Both antibodies showed a trend towards higher brain retention in Tg-ArcSwe mice and [¹²⁵I]1101-scFv8D3 showed a higher brain-to-blood ratio compared to [¹²⁴I]1101. PET imaging with [¹²⁴I]1101 and [¹²⁴I]1101-scFv8D3 revealed low global brain uptake. However, ex vivo autoradiography and regional PET quantification (ROI-to-cerebellum ratios) indicated significant cortical and caudate retention of [¹²⁴I]1101-scFv8D3 in Tg-ArcSwe mice, supporting region-specific target engagement.

Conclusion

This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the feasibility of using bispecific antibody-based PET radioligands to target fibrin in the AD brain. While the FBP-scFv8D3 conjugate showed limited specificity, the bispecific antibody 1101-scFv8D3 exhibited higher brain penetration and fibrin selectivity. These findings support further development of antibody-based imaging tools toward the goal to stratify AD patients who may benefit from anticoagulant therapy.