Comparison of (99m)tc-tetrofosmin and (99m)tc-sestamibi uptake in glioma cell lines: the role of p-glycoprotein expression

George A Alexiou; Xanthi Xourgia; Evrysthenis Vartholomatos; Spyridon Tsiouris; John A Kalef-Ezra; Andreas D Fotopoulos; Athanasios P Kyritsis

doi:10.1155/2014/471032

Comparison of (99m)tc-tetrofosmin and (99m)tc-sestamibi uptake in glioma cell lines: the role of p-glycoprotein expression

Int J Mol Imaging. 2014:2014:471032. doi: 10.1155/2014/471032. Epub 2014 Nov 10.

Authors

George A Alexiou¹, Xanthi Xourgia², Evrysthenis Vartholomatos¹, Spyridon Tsiouris², John A Kalef-Ezra³, Andreas D Fotopoulos², Athanasios P Kyritsis¹

Affiliations

¹ Neurosurgical Institute, University of Ioannina, Stavros Niarchos Avenue, 45500 Ioannina, Greece.
² Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Ioannina, Stavros Niarchos Avenue, 45500 Ioannina, Greece.
³ Department of Medical Physics, University of Ioannina, Stavros Niarchos Avenue, 45500 Ioannina, Greece.

Abstract

(99m)Tc-Tetrofosmin ((99m)Tc-TF) and (99m)Tc-Sestamibi ((99m)Tc-MIBI) are SPECT tracers that have been used for brain tumor imaging. Tumor's multidrug resistance phenotype, namely, P-glycoprotein (p-gp), and the multidrug resistance related proteins (MRPs) expression have been suggested to influence both tracers' uptake. In the present study we set out to compare (99m)Tc-TF and (99m)Tc-MIBI uptake in high-grade glioma cell lines and to investigate the influence of gliomas p-gp expression on both tracers' uptake. We used four glioma cell lines (U251MG, A172, U87MG, and T98G). The expression of p-gp protein was evaluated by flow cytometry. Twenty μCi (7.4·10(5) Bq) of (99m)Tc-TF and (99m)Tc-MIBI were used. The radioactivity in the cellular lysate was measured with a dose calibrator. P-gp was significantly expressed only in the U251MG cell line (P < 0.001). In all gliomas cell lines (U251MG, U87MG, A172, and T98G) the (99m)Tc-TF uptake was significantly higher than (99m)Tc-sestamibi. The U251MG cell line, in which significant p-gp expression was documented, exhibited the strongest uptake difference. (99m)Tc-TF uptake was higher than (99m)Tc-MIBI in all studied high-grade glioma cell lines. Thus, (99m)Tc-TF may be superior to (99m)Tc-MIBI for glioma imaging in vivo.