PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yilong Cui
AU  - Tadayuki Takashima
AU  - Misato Takashima-Hirano
AU  - Yasuhiro Wada
AU  - Miho Shukuri
AU  - Yasuhisa Tamura
AU  - Hisashi Doi
AU  - Hirotaka Onoe
AU  - Yosky Kataoka
AU  - Yasuyoshi Watanabe
TI  - <sup>11</sup>C-PK11195 PET for the In Vivo Evaluation of Neuroinflammation in the Rat Brain After Cortical Spreading Depression
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.109.066498
DP  - 2009 Nov 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1904--1911
VI  - 50
IP  - 11
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/50/11/1904.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/50/11/1904.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2009 Nov 01; 50
AB  - Neurogenic inflammation triggered by extravasation of plasma protein has been hypothesized as a key factor in the generation of the pain sensation associated with migraine. The principal immune cell that responds to this inflammation is the parenchymal microglia of the central nervous system. Methods: Using a PET technique with 11C-(R)-[1-(2-chlorophenyl)-N-methyl-N-(1-methyl-propyl)-3-isoquinolinecarboxamide] (11C-PK11195), a PET ligand for peripheral type–benzodiazepine receptor, we evaluated the microglial activation in the rat brain after generation of unilateral cortical spreading depression, a stimulation used to bring up an experimental animal model of migraine. Results: We found a significant increase in the brain uptake of 11C-PK11195, which was completely displaceable by the excess amounts of unlabeled ligands, in the ipsilateral hemisphere of the spreading depression–generated rats. Moreover, the binding potential of 11C-PK11195 in the spreading depression–generated rats was significantly higher than that in the sham-operated control rats. Conclusion: These results suggest that as an inflammatory reaction, microglial cells are activated in response to the nociceptive stimuli induced by cortical spreading depression in the rat brain. Therefore, the 11C-PK11195 PET technique could have a potential for diagnostic and therapeutic monitoring of neurologic disorders related to neuroinflammation such as migraine.