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Use of 11C-triphenylmethylphosphonium for the evaluation of membrane potential in the heart by positron-emission tomography

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Abstract

The membrane potential in cells can be estimated by electrophysiological techniques and biomedical methods using lipophilic cations labelled with 14C. However, these techniques cannot be applied to the human heart. In this study a lipophilic cation, triphenylmethylphosphonium (TPMP), was labelled with carbon-11 with the purpose of investigating its suitability for the estimation of membrane potential in vivo. A biodistribution study in mice and rats showed significant uptake of the cation in the heart a few minutes after IV injection which remained constant for 60 min. In vivo study by positron-emission tomography showed that after IV injection of 11C-TPMP in the dog, activity rose almost immediately in the myocardium and then remained constant for 60 min. A rapid injection of KCl (>40 mg/kg) 20 min after injection of 11C-TPMP led to an instantaneous fall in myocardial 11C-TPMP concentration. Membrane potential (ΔΨ), calculated from the TPMP distribution ratio between intracellular and plasma water space by the Nernst equation, was estimated at-148.1±6.0 mV for the dog heart. This value reflected both cell membrane potential and mitochondrial membrane potential and thus, the energy state of the myocardial cells.

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Author notes

  1. H. Fukuda

    Present address: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, The Research Institute for Tuberculosis and Cancer, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryo-cho, 980, Sendai, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Service Hospitalier Frédéric Joliot, Départment de Biologie, Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, 91406, Orsay, France

    H. Fukuda,  A. Syrota, M. Crouzel, C. Prenant & J. Sastre

  2. Centre Hospitalo Universitaire de la Côte de Nacre, 14000, Caen, France

    P. Charbonneau & C. Crouzel

  3. INSERM U 13, Hôpital Claude Bernard, 75108, Paris

    J. Vallois

Authors
  1. H. Fukuda
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  2. A. Syrota
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  3. P. Charbonneau
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  4. J. Vallois
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  5. M. Crouzel
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  6. C. Prenant
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Fukuda, H., Syrota, A., Charbonneau, P. et al. Use of 11C-triphenylmethylphosphonium for the evaluation of membrane potential in the heart by positron-emission tomography. Eur J Nucl Med 11, 478–483 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00252793

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00252793

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