A SLC7A5-Specific Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe for Cancer-Targeted Imaging Applications.

Extensive surgical resection improves survival in cancer patients. Fluorescence-guided imaging techniques have significantly enhanced the precision of cancer resections. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and no other targetable molecules have been identified. In this study, we verified that the L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1, also known as SLC7A5) is overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells and we constructed a novel near-infrared fluorescent dye Cys-PEG5-IR target to SLC7A5. We then report the SLC7A5 receptor specificity of Cys-PEG5-IR as a contrast agent for TNBC imaging in vitro and in vivo. The conjugation elevated cell fluorescence on SLC7A5-overexpressing TNBC cells and produced minimal cell fluorescence when treated with SLC7A5 knockdown. Tumor uptake of Cys-PEG5-IR was significantly higher than the unlabeled IR in the subcutaneous MDA-MB-231 TNBC xenograft. This work highlights the prospect of using methionine (Met) transport pathway as an alternative strategy for targeting cancer cells, especially TNBC cells.