In vivo molecular imaging of the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor complex in the aged rat brain.

Autor: Hoekzema E; Department de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08192, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain., Rojas S, Herance R, Pareto D, Abad S, Jiménez X, Figueiras FP, Popota F, Ruiz A, Flotats N, Fernández FJ, Rocha M, Rovira M, Víctor VM, Gispert JD
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Neurobiology of aging [Neurobiol Aging] 2012 Jul; Vol. 33 (7), pp. 1457-65. Date of Electronic Publication: 2011 Jan 26.
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2010.12.006
Abstrakt: The GABA-ergic system, known to regulate neural tissue genesis during cortical development, has been postulated to play a role in cerebral aging processes. Using in vivo molecular imaging and voxel-wise quantification, we aimed to assess the effects of aging on the benzodiazepine (BDZ) recognition site of the GABA(A) receptor. To visualize BDZ site availability, [(11)C]-flumazenil microPET acquisitions were conducted in young and old rats. The data were analyzed and region of interest analyses were applied to validate the voxel-wise approach. We observed decreased [(11)C]-flumazenil binding in the aged rat brains in comparison with the young control group. More specifically, clusters of reduced radioligand uptake were detected in the bilateral hippocampus, cerebellum, midbrain, and bilateral frontal and parieto-occipital cortex. Our results support the pertinence of voxel-wise quantification in the analysis of microPET data. Moreover, these findings indicate that the aging process involves declines in neural BDZ recognition site availability, proposed to reflect alterations in GABA(A) receptor subunit polypeptide expression.
(Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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