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[99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 is a widely used single photon emission tomography (SPECT) radiopharmaceutical in Asian practice for early detection of central dopaminergic disorders. However, its imaging quality remains sub-optimal. To overcome this problem, mannitol, an osmotic agent was used to observe its effect on improving striatal [99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 uptake in rat brain by titrated human dosages to investigate a clinically feasible way to improve human imaging quality. [99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 synthesis and quality control were performed as described. Sprague–Dawley rats were used for this study. The animal in vivo nanoSPECT/CT and ex vivo autoradiography were employed to observe and verify the striatal [99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 uptake in rat brains using clinically equivalent doses (i.e., 0, 1 and 2 mL groups, each n = 5) of mannitol (20% w/v, equivalent to 200 mg/mL) by an intravenous administration. Specific binding ratios (SBRs) were calculated to express the central striatal uptake in different experimental groups. In the NanoSPECT/CT imaging, the highest SBRs of striatal [99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 were reached at 75–90 min post-injection. The averaged striatal SBRs were 0.85 ± 0.13 (2 mL normal saline, the control group), 0.94 ± 0.26 (1 mL mannitol group) and 1.36 ± 0.12 (2 mL mannitol group, p < 0.01 which were significantly different than the control as well as 1 mL mannitol groups (p < 0.05). The SBRs from ex vivo autoradiography also showed a comparable trend of the striatal [99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 uptake in the 2 mL, 1 mL mannitol and the control groups (1.76 ± 0.52, 0.91 ± 0.29, and 0.21 ± 0.03, respectively, p < 0.05). No remarkable changes of vital signs were found in the mannitol groups and the controls. Pre-treated mannitol revealed a significant increase of the central striatal [99mTc]Tc TRODAT-1 uptake in a rat model which not only enabled us to perform pre-clinical studies of dopaminergic related disorders but also provided a potential way to further optimize image quality in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: [123I]Epidepride is a radio-tracer with very high affinity for dopamine D2/D3 receptors in brain. The importance of alteration in dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding condition has been wildly verified in schizophrenia. In the present study we set up a rat schizophrenia model by chronic injection of a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801, to examine if [123I]epidepride could be used to evaluate the alterations of dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding condition in specific brain regions. Method: Rats were given repeated injection of MK-801 (dissolved in saline, 0.3mg/kg) or saline for 1month. Afterwards, total distance traveled (cm) and social interaction changes were recorded. Radiochemical purity of [123I]epidepride was analyzed by Radio-Thin-Layer Chromatography (chloroform: methanol, 9:1, v/v) and [123I]epidepride neuroimages were obtained by ex vivo autoradiography and small animal SPECT/CT. Data obtained were then analyzed to determine the changes of specific binding ratio. Result: Chronic MK-801 treatment for a month caused significantly increased local motor activity and induced an inhibition of social interaction. As shown in [123I]epidepride ex vivo autoradiographs, MK-801 induced a decrease of specific binding ratio in the striatum (24.01%), hypothalamus (35.43%), midbrain (41.73%) and substantia nigra (37.93%). In addition, [123I]epidepride small animal SPECT/CT neuroimaging was performed in the striatum and midbrain. There were statistically significant decreases in specific binding ratio in both the striatum (P <.01) and midbrain (P <.05) between the saline and MK-801 group. Conclusion: These results suggest that [123I]epidepride is a useful radio-tracer to reveal the alterations of dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding in a rat schizophrenia model and is also helpful to evaluate therapeutic effects of schizophrenia in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]