Novel PET Probes 18F-BCPP-EF and 18F-BCPP-BF for Mitochondrial Complex I: A PET Study in Comparison with 18F-BMS-747158-02 in Rat Brain

pyridin-3-ylmethoxy]-2H-pyridazin-3-one (18F-BCPP-BF), for quantita-tive imaging of mitochondrial complex I (MC-I) activity in the brain and preliminarily evaluated their properties in comparison with 18F-BMS-747158-02 (18F-BMS). Methods: The affinity of 18F-BCPP-EF, 18F-BCPP-BF, and 18F-BMS to MC-I was analyzed using in vitro binding assays with 3H-dihydrorotenone and bovine cardio-myocyte submitochondrial particles. 18F-BCPP-EF, 18F-BCPP-BF, or 18F-BMS was intravenously injected into rats, and the uptake (standardized uptake value) in each organ was determined by dis-section method. The effects of rotenone, a specific MC-I inhibitor, on the uptake of each probe were assessed by whole-body PET imaging in rats. Ischemic brain model rats were imaged using 18F-BCPP-EF. Results: The rank order of affinity to MC-I was 18F-BCPP-BF. 18F-BMS. 18F-BCPP-EF. The uptake of 18F-BCPP-EF and 18F-BMS was high in the heart, intermediate in brain, and low in muscle and bone 60 min after the injection. 18F-BCPP-BF provided increasing bone uptake with time after the injection. The uptake of 18F-BCPP-EF and 18F-BMS into the brain and heart was significantly decreased by preadministration of rotenone; however, the reduction degree of 18F-BCPP-EF was more pronounced than that of 18F-BMS. Rotenone did not affect 18F-BCPP-BF uptake in either the brain or the heart. 18F-BCPP-EF imaged the cortical ischemic neu-ronal damage without any disturbance by microglial activation even on day 7 when 18F-FDG showed high uptake in the damaged area. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that 18F-BCPP-EF could be a potential PET probe for quantitative imaging of MC-I activity and its ischemic damage in the living brain with PET