Development of 111In-Labeled Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting SFTSV Structural Proteins for Molecular Imaging of SFTS Infectious Diseases by SPECT

No effective vaccines or treatments are currently available for severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), a fatal tick-borne infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). This study evaluated the potential of ¹¹¹In-labeled anti-SFTSV antibodies targeting SFTSV structural proteins as single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging agents for the selective visualization of SFTSV-infected sites. This study used nuclear medicine imaging to elucidate the pathology of SFTS and assess its therapeutic efficacy. Immunostaining experiments confirmed that the anti-SFTSV antibody (N-mAb), which targets the N protein, specifically accumulated in SFTSV-infected Vero E6 cells. ¹¹¹In-labeled N-mAb was successfully prepared using a diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) chelator, resulting in [¹¹¹In]In-DTPA-N-mAb with high radiochemical purity exceeding 95% and a radiochemical yield of 55%. Cell-binding assays using SFTSV-infected Vero E6 cells demonstrated that [¹¹¹In]In-DTPA-N-mAb binding was detectable even without membrane permeabilization, with the binding intensity correlating with infection levels. In vivo studies using SFTSV-infected A129 mice showed high spleen accumulation of [¹¹¹In]In-DTPA-N-mAb (87.5% ID/g), consistent with SFTSV tropism, compared to 12.3% ID/g in mock-infected mice. SPECT/CT imaging clearly revealed high radioactivity in these regions. Although nonspecific accumulation was noted in the liver and spleen, this issue may be mitigated through antibody modifications such as fragmentation or PEGylation. Overall, [¹¹¹In]In-DTPA-N-mAb is a promising imaging agent for non-invasive visualization of SFTSV-infected sites and may aid in elucidating SFTS pathology and assessing therapeutic efficacy.