Uptake of gallium-67 by the hepatocytes during liver regeneration in carbon tetrachloride-treated mice.

Gallium-67 (67Ga) has been used as a tumor or inflammation-imaging agent in nuclear medicine. We recently reported that the peak of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level was 1 d after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) treatment in rats. However, the peak of 67Ga uptake by the liver tissue and hepatocytes was 2 d after the treatment. If 67Ga is taken in the hepatic disorder phase, the pattern of 67Ga uptake by the hepatocytes should be consistent with that of the ALT level. In order to answer why it was not, we carried out a detailed examination. The lipid peroxidation of hepatocytes from CCl4-treated mice was greatly increased 1 d after CCl4 treatment; serum ALT was also increased 1 d after the treatment. The uptake of 67Ga by the liver tissue reached a maximum 1 and 2 d after the treatment, while maximum by the hepatocytes was achieved after 2 d. The incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine into the hepatocytes also reached maximum 2 d after the treatment. These results suggest that the uptake of 67Ga by the hepatocytes is carried out during liver regeneration rather than during hepatic disorder by CCl4 treatment.