Characteristic brain distribution of 1-(14)C-octanoate in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia in comparison with those of (123)I-IMP and (123)I-iomazenil.
1-(11)C-Octanoate is a potential tracer for studying astroglial function in PET. To evaluate the usefulness of 1-(11)C-octanoate for studying ischemic stroke, we investigated the brain distribution of 1-(14)C-octanoate and compared it with N-isopropyl-p-(123)I-iodoamphetamine ((123)I-IMP) distribution (cerebral blood flow), (123)I-iomazenil ((123)I-IMZ) distribution (neuronal viability based on (123)I-IMZ binding to benzodiazepine receptors), and hematoxylin-eosin stain (morphologic changes) in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia.


METHODS
The right middle cerebral artery of each rat was occluded intraluminally. The brain distribution of 1-(14)C-octanoate and (123)I-IMP (or (123)I-IMZ) was determined 4 and 24 h after the insult using a dual-tracer autoradiographic technique (n = 4-7 in each group). Coronal brain sections adjacent to those used for autoradiography were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Regions of interest (ROIs) were determined for 3 coronal slices, and asymmetry indices (AIs, lesion/normal hemisphere) of the tracer uptake were calculated. ROIs on the hemisphere with the lesion were classified into 4 groups: In region A, widespread necrotic cells were observed; in region B, necrotic cells were occasionally observed; in region C1, no morphologic changes were observed and the AIs for (123)I-IMP (or (123)I-IMZ) were <or=0.8; and in region C2, no morphologic changes were observed and the AIs for (123)I-IMP (or (123)I-IMZ) were >0.8.


RESULTS
1-(14)C-Octanoate uptake decreased in the regions where morphologic changes were observed (regions A and B) but was relatively preserved in the surrounding region without morphologic changes despite reduced (123)I-IMP and (123)I-IMZ uptake (region C1). In the region without morphologic changes (region C1), AIs for 1-(14)C-octanoate were significantly higher than those for (123)I-IMP (4 h, 0.73 +/- 0.23 for 1-(14)C-octanoate and 0.37 +/- 0.20 for (123)I-IMP, P < 0.0001; 24 h, 0.84 +/- 0.11 for 1-(14)C-octanoate and 0.44 +/- 0.15 for (123)I-IMP, P < 0.0001) and those for (123)I-IMZ (4 h, 0.83 +/- 0.19 for 1-(14)C-octanoate and 0.57 +/- 0.13 for (123)I-IMZ, P < 0.0001; 24 h, 0.91 +/- 0.13 for 1-(14)C-octanoate and 0.73 +/- 0.06 for (123)I-IMZ, P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
1-(14)C-Octanoate uptake was relatively preserved in the regions without morphologic changes despite reduced (123)I-IMP and (123)I-IMZ uptake. 1-(11)C-Octanoate may provide further functional information on the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke, reflecting astroglial function based on fatty acid metabolism.
Kuge
Yuji
Y
Departments of Tracer Kinetics and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan. kuge@med.hokudai.ac.jp
Hikosaka
Kenji
K
Seki
Koh-ichi
K
Ohkura
Kazue
K
Nishijima
Ken-chi
KC
Kaji
Tomohito
T
Ueno
Satoshi
S
Tsukamoto
Eriko
E
Tamaki
Nagara
N
D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography / Q000379:methods; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002210:Caprylates / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005442:Flumazenil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D020367:Iofetamine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D002210:Caprylates; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D005442:Flumazenil; C063038:iomazenil; D020367:Iofetamine; C031492:octanoic acid