Bevacizumab-IRDye800 as an imaging probe for the detection of prostate cancer in mice
Scientific Reports. 2026-03-26; 16(1):
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-39705-y
Genevois C(1)(2), Dugot-Senant N(3), Canron MH(4), Azzi-Martin L(1), Grenier
N(1)(5), Couillaud F(1), Mazzocco C(6).
Author information:
(1)BoRdeaux Institute of onCology (BRIC), INSERM U1312, Univ. Bordeaux, 146 rue
Léo Saignat, Bordeaux, 33076, France.
(2)Vivoptic Platform, TBM-Core, CNRS UAR3427, INSERM US005, Univ. Bordeaux, 146
rue Léo Saignat, Bordeaux, 33076, France.
(3)Service d’Histologie, TBM-Core, CNRS UAR3427, INSERM US005, Univ. Bordeaux,
146 rue Léo Saignat, Bordeaux, 33076, France.
(4)Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Univ. Bordeaux, UMR 5293, Bordeaux,
33000, France.
(5)Service d’Imagerie Diagnostique et Interventionnelle de l’Adulte, Groupe
Hospitalier Pellegrin, Place Amélie Raba-Léon, Bordeaux Cedex, 33076, France.
(6)Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Univ. Bordeaux, UMR 5293, Bordeaux,
33000, France. .
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signalling plays a critical role in
carcinogenesis and tumour development in several types of cancer. Therefore, we
sought to evaluate a fluorescently labelled monoclonal antibody against VEGF-A
(Bevacizumab) as a probe for the detection of prostate cancer by in vivo
fluorescence imaging. An orthotopic model of prostate cancer was generated by
injecting bioluminescent human PC3 cells into the prostate lobe, followed by
bioluminescence in vivo. Bevacizumab was labelled using a near-infrared
fluorophore to generate a specific imaging probe (Bevacizumab-IRDye800). The
probe was injected intravenously into prostate cancer-bearing mice, and
fluorescence was monitored in vivo by fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT).
72 h post-injection, Bevacizumab-IRDye800 was detected in vivo by FMT in the
prostate region. On excised prostates, the fluorescence signal overlaid with the
bioluminescent signal from cancer cells. Our data demonstrate that
Bevacizumab-IRDye800 is a high-affinity contrast agent for in vivo detection of
prostate cancer tumours, paving the way to further development of
near-infrared-labelled Bevacizumab-IRDye800 for the detection of other solid
cancers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material
available at 10.1038/s41598-026-39705-y.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-39705-y
PMCID: PMC13171929
PMID: 41888171
Conflict of interest statement: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: The study is reported in
accordance with ARRIVE guidelines ( https://arriveguidelines.org ).