Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Carbonic Anhydrase IX in Athymic Mice Bearing HT-29 Tumor Xenografts

Near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging technology is a highly sensitive imaging modality and has been widely used in noninvasively studying the status of receptor expression in small animal models, with an appropriate NIRF probe targeting a specific receptor. In this report, Cy5.5-conjugated anti-CAIX monoclonal antibody (Mab-Cy5.5) was evaluated in athymic mice bearing HT-29 tumor xenografts in order to investigate the effect of conjugate on tumor targeting efficacy. In vitro binding studies showed that Mab-Cy5.5 could specifically bind to the cells which expressed CAIX. Results from in vivo imaging showed that HT-29 tumor xenografts can be clearly visualized at 48 h after injection of Mab-Cy5.5, and in the blocking experiment, free anti-CAIX antibody effectively blocked the concentration of Mab-Cy5.5 in the tumors. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry analysis of HT-29 tumor xenografts verified the expression of CAIX in HT-29 tumors. Mab-Cy5.5 could specifically bind to the tumors which expressed CAIX. These results suggested that Mab-Cy5.5 was suitable for CAIX expression imaging in the preclinical research.