Abstract:
3-(2'-[18F]fluoroethyl)spiperone (FESP), a recently developed
dopamine D2-receptor binding radiopharmaceutical, was used for dynamic
characterization of dopamine-receptor binding in Macaca nemestrina
monkeys and humans with positron emission tomography (PET). FESP in
vitro binding properties to the dopamine receptor (IC50 3D 1.5 nM) are
similar to those of spiperone. Serial PET scans in monkeys after
intravenous bolus injection of FESP revealed specific radioactivity
accumulation in striatum (rich in dopamine D2-receptors), whereas
radioactivity concentration declined after 20 min in frontal cortex
(serotonin receptors) and more rapidly in cerebellum (nonspecific
binding). Specific dopamine D2-receptor binding was saturated with
increasing concentrations of radioligand (specific activity range: 1-
10,000 Ci/mmol), was stereospecifically blocked with (+)butaclamol (0.5
mg/kg), and showed only partial displacement with spiperone (200
micrograms/kg, i.v. administration 90 min after FESP injection). From
PET experiments with FESP in humans, it is possible to visualize
accumulation of radioactivity in striatum in a manner similar to that
observed in monkeys and, ex vivo, in rodents (adult male Sprague-Dawley
rats). Biochemical analyses in rat brain revealed that the activity
(approximately 90%) in striatum was unmodified FESP up to 4 h after
injection. On the other hand, FESP was metabolized peripherally (rat
greater than monkey greater than human), with only 11% of plasma
radioactivity remaining as intact FESP in rodents and 54% in humans
after 2 h. Based on these interspecies scaling pharmacokinetic data, it
is unequivocal that FESP peripheral metabolites do not significantly
contribute to the accumulated radioactivity in striatal tissue.
Therefore, it is concluded that FESP is suitable for the quantitative
estimation of dopamine D2-receptor sites using PET