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Dose-response assessment of tariquidar and elacridar and regional quantification of P-glycoprotein inhibition at the rat blood-brain barrier using (R)-[11C]verapamil PET

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Abstract

Purpose

Overactivity of the multidrug efflux transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is believed to play an important role in resistance to central nervous system drug treatment. (R)-[11C]verapamil (VPM) PET can be used to measure the function of P-gp at the BBB, but low brain uptake of VPM hampers the mapping of regional differences in cerebral P-gp function and expression. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dose-response relationship of two potent P-gp inhibitors and to investigate if increased brain uptake of VPM mediated by P-gp inhibition can be used to assess regional differences in P-gp activity.

Methods

Two groups of Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 12) underwent single VPM PET scans at 120 min after administration of different doses of the P-gp inhibitors tariquidar and elacridar. In an additional six rats, paired VPM PET scans were performed before and after administration of 3 mg/kg tariquidar.

Results

Inhibitor administration resulted in an up to 11-fold increase in VPM brain distribution volumes (DV) with half-maximum effective dose (ED50) values of 3.0 ± 0.2 and 1.2 ± 0.1 mg/kg for tariquidar and elacridar, respectively. In paired PET scans, 3 mg/kg tariquidar resulted in regionally different enhancement of brain activity distribution, with lowest DV in cerebellum and highest DV in thalamus.

Conclusion

Our data show that tariquidar and elacridar are able to increase VPM brain distribution in rat brain up to 11-fold over baseline at maximum effective doses, with elacridar being about three times more potent than tariquidar. Regional differences in tariquidar-induced modulation of VPM brain uptake point to regional differences in cerebral P-gp function and expression in rat brain.

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Acknowledgments

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement number 201380 (“Euripides”) and from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) project “Transmembrane Transporters in Health and Disease” (SFB F35). The authors thank Thomas Filip and Maria Zsebedics (Seibersdorf Laboratories GmbH) for their skilful help with laboratory animal handling and the staff of the radiochemistry laboratory (Seibersdorf Laboratories GmbH) for their continuous support. Thomas Flanitzer is gratefully acknowledged for help with the data analysis and Ronald Boellaard (VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) for advice on compartment modelling issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Medicine, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, 2444, Seibersdorf, Austria

    Claudia Kuntner, Thomas Wanek, Gloria Stundner & Oliver Langer

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany

    Jens P. Bankstahl, Marion Bankstahl & Wolfgang Löscher

  3. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Johann Stanek, Markus Müller & Oliver Langer

  4. Department of Medical Computer Sciences, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Rudolf Karch

  5. Chemical Analytics, Seibersdorf Labor GmbH, Seibersdorf, Austria

    Rebecca Brauner

  6. Department of Cardiology and Angiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Martin Meier

  7. Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Xiaoqi Ding

Authors
  1. Claudia Kuntner
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  2. Jens P. Bankstahl
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  3. Marion Bankstahl
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  10. Xiaoqi Ding
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  11. Markus Müller
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  13. Oliver Langer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Claudia Kuntner.

Additional information

Claudia Kuntner and Jens P. Bankstahl contributed equally to this study.

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Kuntner, C., Bankstahl, J.P., Bankstahl, M. et al. Dose-response assessment of tariquidar and elacridar and regional quantification of P-glycoprotein inhibition at the rat blood-brain barrier using (R)-[11C]verapamil PET. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 37, 942–953 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-009-1332-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-009-1332-5

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