PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Chio Okuyama AU - Naoki Sakane AU - Toshihide Yoshida AU - Keiji Shima AU - Hiroyuki Kurosawa AU - Kenzo Kumamoto AU - Yo Ushijima AU - Tsunehiko Nishimura TI - <sup>123</sup>I- or <sup>125</sup>I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine Visualization of Brown Adipose Tissue DP - 2002 Sep 01 TA - Journal of Nuclear Medicine PG - 1234--1240 VI - 43 IP - 9 4099 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/43/9/1234.short 4100 - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/43/9/1234.full SO - J Nucl Med2002 Sep 01; 43 AB - 123I-Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) accumulations that do not correspond to any tumor are observed occasionally on the medial aspect of the upper back or shoulder of children. The true nature of such accumulations is unknown, and we hypothesized that they represent interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) visualized by scintigraphy. Methods: Wistar rats (7 wk old) received MIBG labeled with 123I or 125I. Autoradiography was performed, and concentrations of the tracer in the interscapular subcutaneous tissue were identified histopathologically. The effects of 6-hydroxydopamine, reserpine, and β 3-adrenergic receptor agonist (CL316,243) on the accumulation were investigated to elucidate the mechanism of uptake into BAT. Results: Autoradiography showed well-defined distinct accumulation in the subcutaneous tissue on the upper back, and hematoxylin-eosin and anti-uncoupling protein 1 antibody staining confirmed that it was BAT. The percentage injected dose per gram in BAT was as high as that in the heart and was quite different from the concentration in white adipose tissue. Preadministration of 6-hydroxydopamine or reserpine resulted in lower MIBG concentrations in BAT. Activation of the β3-adrenergic receptor accelerated the washout of MIBG in BAT and caused an increase in concentration in white adipose tissue. Conclusion: MIBG accumulates in the adrenergic nervous system in BAT, and IBAT is distinguished from the surrounding white adipose tissue. To our knowledge, BAT has not been visualized previously. We showed that MIBG scintigraphy might be suitable for the investigation of BAT and treatment of human obesity.