Human adult and adolescent biodistribution and dosimetry of the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A radioligand 11C-UCB-J

Abstract

The ability to quantify synaptic density in vivo in human adults and adolescents is of vital importance to understanding neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we performed whole-body scans to determine organ radiation dosimetry of ¹¹C-UCB-J in humans.

Methods

Dynamic whole-body PET scans were performed in four healthy adults after injection of ¹¹C-UCB-J. Regions of interest (ROIs) were drawn manually for the brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, liver, pancreas, spleen, gallbladder, lungs, urinary bladder, and intestines. ROIs were applied to dynamic images to generate time-activity curves (TACs). Decay correction was removed from TACs, and the area under the curve (AUC) for each ROI was calculated. AUCs were then normalized by injected activity and organ volumes to produce radioligand residence times for each organ. These times were then used as input into the OLINDA/EXM 1.0 software to determine the total radiation dose in each organ and the effective dose for these OLINDA models: 55-kg female, 70-kg male, and 15-year-old adolescent.

Results

Visual evaluation detected high uptake in the liver, brain, gallbladder, gastrointestinal tract, and urinary bladder. The dose-limiting organ was the urinary bladder for adult males (0.0224 mSv/MBq) and liver for adult females (0.0248 mSv/MBq) with single-study dose limits of 2239 MBq and 2017 MBq ¹¹C-UCB-J, respectively. For adolescents, the large intestine was the dose-limiting organ (0.0266 mSv/MBq) with a single-study dose limit of 188 MBq.

Conclusions

¹¹C-UCB-J dosimetry in adults is consistent with those for many carbon-11-labeled ligands. Overall, ¹¹C-UCB-J can be used safely in adolescents, as in adults, to measure synaptic density in various neuropsychiatric and other relevant disorders.