Journal Article DKFZ-2026-02350

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Allocation of TSPO-PET signals to cellular and extracellular compartments in dependence of blood-brain barrier disruption in experimental glioblastoma.

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2026
Springer-Verl. Heidelberg [u.a.]

European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging nn, nn () [10.1007/s00259-026-08187-5]
 GO

Abstract: Translocator protein (TSPO)-PET imaging facilitates monitoring of glioblastoma in preclinical models and patients. However, specificity of TSPO-PET signals remains to be investigated. In this study, we aimed to decipher exact contributions of cellular and extracellular compartments including the impact of blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption to TSPO-PET signals in an experimental glioblastoma mouse model.Mice with implanted glioblastoma (SB28; n = 36 early-stage, n = 39 late-stage; GFP(+)) were injected with the TSPO tracer [18F]GE-180 (21 MBq ± 1.5 MBq). Dynamic 60 min microPET scans were performed with and without prior blocking by excessive cold radiotracer. Tumors were dissociated, followed by cell sorting of tumor cells, tumor-associated microglia/macrophages (TAMs, CD11b(+)) and non-tumor/non-TAM (i.e. remaining) cells with subsequent gamma emission measures and flow cytometry (scRadiotracing) to calculate radioactivity per single cell. PET signals and single-cell tracer uptake in tumors and non-lesional hemispheres were compared between blocked and unblocked conditions. N = 10 mice were intravenously injected with fluorescent Dextran to investigate BBB disruption by confocal microscopy in correlation with TSPO-PET signals of the same animals.TSPO-PET indicated strong but incomplete signal reduction after blocking in tumors (early-stage: -72%; late-stage: -59%, p < 0.001) and contralateral hemispheres (early stage: -65%, late-stage: -63%, p < 0.001) compared to unblocked animals. We found nearly complete blocking of radiotracer uptake across all analyzed cell fractions (tumor cells: -95%, p = 0.0039; TAMs: -98%, p < 0.0001; remaining cells: -99%, p = 0.0033) compared to unblocked mice, regardless of tumor stages. There was a significant correlation of PET signal reduction (R=-0.824, p = 0.0034) as well as residual PET signal upon blocking (R = 0.809, p = 0.0046) with Dextran intensity.Specificity of TSPO-PET signals in experimental glioblastoma reaches 72% in early-stage tumors, but decreases to 59% in late-stage SB28 tumors, due to progressive contributions of BBB disruption. Non-specific TSPO tracer uptake is driven by BBB disruption and fully allocated to the extracellular compartment, whereas cellular TSPO tracer uptake shows strong specificity.

Keyword(s): Blocking ; Blood-brain barrier ; Glioblastoma ; Specificity ; TSPO

Classification:

Note: #DKTKZFB9# / epub

Contributing Institute(s):
  1. DKTK Koordinierungsstelle München (MU01)
Research Program(s):
  1. 899 - ohne Topic (POF4-899) (POF4-899)

Appears in the scientific report 2026
Database coverage:
Medline ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Clinical Medicine ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; DEAL Springer ; DEAL Springer ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF >= 5 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection
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 Record created 2026-09-24, last modified 2026-09-29



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