Relation between technetium 99m-methoxyisobutylisonitrile accumulation and multidrug resistance protein in the parathyroid glands.

Technetium 99m ((99m)Tc)-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) scintigraphy has been reported to be a useful method for visualizing the parathyroid glands for the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism. Some drug metabolism transporters, such as p-glycoprotein (P-GP) or multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP), are believed to be involved with one mechanism of (99m)Tc-MIBI accumulation in the parathyroid glands. We analyzed the expression of P-GP and MRP in 40 parathyroid glands from eight patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and six patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism using an immunohistochemical procedure. These patients underwent (99m)Tc-MIBI scintigraphy and thallium 201 ((201)Tl)/(99m)Tc subtraction scintigraphy preoperatively. We investigated the relation between the scintigraphic images and the expression of P-GP and MRP. The positive findings of (99m)Tc-MIBI accumulation in the hyperfunctioning parathyroids were increased significantly. There was a significant difference between the expression of P-GP and the (99m)Tc-MIBI scintigraphy findings. High expression of P-GP in parathyroid cells resulted in the negative image of (99m)Tc-MIBI, and low or no expression of P-GP made the image positive. There was no significant difference between the expression of MRP and the (99m)Tc-MIBI scintigraphic imaging. The (99m)Tc-MIBI image was also related to the weight of the parathyroid glands but not to the type of the parathyroid cells. Based on these clinical findings, we can hypothesize that P-GP functions as a drug transporter not only for chemotherapeutic agents but also for (99m)Tc-MIBI.