Monitoring the binding of protein ligands and therapeutic antibodies to their respective receptors (target engagement) is crucial to compound prioritization in anti-cancer targeted drug screening. However, current in vivo optical imaging techniques cannot distinguish between co-localization and actual receptor-ligand binding at the tumor region. Since transferrin receptor (TfR) level is significantly elevated in cancer cells compared to non-cancerous cells, transferrin (Tf) has been successfully used in molecular imaging and targeted anti-cancer drug delivery. The homodimeric nature of TfR allows for measuring fluorescence lifetime FRET (FLI-FRET) to quantitate the TfR-Tf binding and internalization into cancer cells, based on the reduction of donor fluorophore lifetime. Near infrared (NIR) FLI-FRET has been used to directly visualize and quantitate TfR-Tf binding and internalization by providing the fraction of donor-labeled entity that is interacting with its respective receptor. NIR FLI-FRET has been validated at multiscale, using both in vitro microscopy as well as in vivo macroscopy whole-body deep imaging assays using different NIR FRET pairs. Accuracy of NIR FLI-FRET quantitation has been compared between fluorescence intensity and lifetime measurements using both microscopy and macroscopy fluorescence imaging. NIR FLI-FRET employs well-characterized quantitative lifetime-based metrics, standard in FRET microscopy, but with the additional benefit of a seamless multiscale technological platform. In summary, we have successfully demonstrated quantitative imaging of receptor-mediated binding and uptake of Tf using NIR FLI-FRET microscopy and macroscopy imaging in vitro and in vivo, respectively. This novel approach can be extended to other receptors, currently targeted in oncology. Hence, NIR FLI-FRET can find numerous applications in pre-clinical drug delivery and targeted therapy assessment and optimization.
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