| Erythropoietin (EPO) is a glycoprotein hormone responsible for regulating erythropoiesis. Expression of EPO and EPO receptors (EPOr) has recently been demonstrated in some neoplastic cell lines and tumours, suggesting a potential new target for therapy. In this work, EPO was labeled with iodine-125 using the lactoperoxidase method, known to prevent damage to protein during radioiodination, and labeling conditions were optimized. In vitro stability studies have shown that 125I-EPO is radiochemically stable for 20 days after radiolabeling. In vitro cell binding studies have demonstrated very low binding (<2%) of EPO to normal and neoplastic cell lines tested. As expected, the biodistribution in healthy mice exhibited comparatively high rates of fixation... |
