Abstract: Objective To investigate the characteristics of peptide HVGGSSV, which specifically binds to
irradiated tumors, and its biological distribution in vivo in order to provide a new way for targeted cancer
therapy of hepatic carcinoma. Methods HVGGSSV peptide was conjugated to Cy7-NHS ester for near-
infrared fluorescence imaging. The nude mice models of hepatic carcinoma which implanted in both hind
limbs were established, and all of them were injected through intraperitoneal with DDP before treated
with radiation. Only the tumor on the right side of each mouse received a radiation dose of 3 Gy, while the
tumor on the left side received no radiation. All mice were divided into two groups with 5 mice each. Four
hours later, experimental group and control group were injected with Cy7-HVGGSSV and Cy7-NHS ester,
respectively. All mice were anesthetized and quantified with the Caliper Luminal IVIS Ⅱ small animal
imaging system at different time after injection. Results Near-infrared images were acquired at 1, 2, 15,
24, and 48 hours post-injection by using in vivo NIR imaging. For the experimental group, the fluorescence
intensity of the tumor in the right hind limb was (5.82 ± 1.24) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ), (8.99 ± 1.27) × 10 7
photons/(s·cm 2 ), (4.04 ± 2.30) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ), (6.52 ± 3.93) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ), (9.33 ± 1.74) × 10 7
photons/(s·cm 2 ), which were higher than those in the left hind limb, respectively. The results of the experimental group
in the right hind limb was (18.4 ± 1.33) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ), (17.1 ± 1.64) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ), (55.8 ± 2.66) × 10 7
photons/(s·cm 2 ), (68.9 ± 3.97) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ), (16.3 ± 1.67) × 10 7 photons/(s·cm 2 ) , which were higher than those
in the control group, respectively. There was still high fluorescence distribution in the liver and kidney at 48 hours post-
injection. Conclusion HVGGSSV peptide could specifically bind to irradiated hepatic tumors, and mainly metabolized in
the kidney and liver, it might provide a targeting transport agent for radiation-guided drugs
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