Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (44)Sc-labeled puromycin can be utilized for imaging of protein synthesis in vivo.
Methods: For micro-positron emission tomographic (μPET) studies, 20-25 MBq of [(44)Sc]-DOTA-puromycin was administered to tumor-bearing rats, and animals were scanned for 1 h dynamically. Results were further validated by dissecting organs and tissues of the animals after the measurement and in vitro blocking experiments using puromycin or cycloheximide to block protein synthesis.
Results: μPET images of tumor-bearing rats showed significant tumor uptake of [(44)Sc]-DOTA-puromycin and a clear-cut tumor visualization. In both blocking experiments, cellular uptake of [(44)Sc]-DOTA-puromycin ([(44)Sc]-DOTA-Pur) could be suppressed by blocking protein synthesis.
Conclusions: We report for the first time successful μPET imaging with (44)Sc obtained from a (44)Ti/(44)Sc generator, as well as noninvasive μPET imaging of ribosomal activity, respectively protein synthesis, with a puromycin-based radiopharmaceutical and the direct correlation between cellular uptake of [(44)Sc]-DOTA-Pur and protein synthesis.