title: Evaluation of (R)-[11C]verapamil as PET tracer of P-glycoprotein function in the blood-brain barrier: kinetics and metabolism in the rat.
abstract: There is evidence that P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may be involved in the aetiology of neurological disorders. For quantification of P-gp function in vivo, (R)-[11C]verapamil can be used as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer, provided that a mathematical model describing kinetics of uptake and clearance of verapamil is available. To develop and validate such a model, the kinetic profile and metabolism of (R)-[11C]verapamil have to be known. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of labeled metabolites of [11C]verapamil in the plasma and (brain) tissue of Wistar rats. For this purpose, extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were developed. The radioactive metabolites of (R)-[11C]verapamil in the liver were N-dealkylated compounds, O-demethylated compounds and a polar fraction formed from N-demethylation products of (R)-[11C]verapamil. Apart from this [11C] polar fraction, other radioactive metabolites of [11C]verapamil were not detected in the brain tissue. Thirty minutes after injection, unmetabolized (R)-[11C]verapamil accounted for 47% of radioactivity in the plasma and 69% in the brain. Sixty minutes after injection, unmetabolized (R)-[11C] verapamil was 27% and 48% in the plasma and the brain, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Research, VU University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. g.luurtsema@vumc.nl
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luurtsema
authors.forename: Carla F M
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Molthoff
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Schuit
authors.forename: Albert D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Windhorst
authors.forename: Adriaan A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lammertsma
authors.forename: Eric J F
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Franssen
mesh_terms: D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D008657:Metabolic Clearance Rate; D009928:Organ Specificity; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014700:Verapamil / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014700:Verapamil