In Vivo Veritas: 18F-Radiolabeled Glycomimetics Allow Insights into the Pharmacological Fate of Galectin-3 Inhibitors.

Glycomimetic drugs have attracted increasing interest as unique targeting vectors or surrogates for endogenous biomolecules. However, it is generally difficult to determine the in vivo pharmacokinetic profile of these compounds. In this work, two galectin-3 inhibitors were radiolabeled with fluorine-18 and used as surrogate PET tracers of TD139 and GB1107. Both compounds are promising drugs for clinical applications. In vivo evaluation revealed that both surrogates strongly differed with respect to their biodistribution profile. The disaccharide (TD139 surrogate) was rapidly eliminated from blood while the monosaccharide (GB1107 surrogate) showed no sign of excretion. The data obtained allowed us to infer the different in vivo fate of TD139 and GB1107 and rationalize how different administration routes could boost efficacy. Whereas the fast excretion profile of the TD139 surrogate indicated that systemic application of disaccharides is unfavorable, the extended biological half-life of the GB1107 surrogate indicated that systemic administration is possible for monosaccharides.