Distribution and dynamics of (99m)Tc-pertechnetate uptake in the thyroid and other organs assessed by single-photon emission computed tomography in living mice.

BACKGROUND: (99m)Tc pertechnetate is a well-known anion, used for clinical imaging of thyroid function. This gamma emitter is transported by the sodium iodide symporter but is not incorporated into thyroglobulin. Scintigraphy using (99m)Tc pertechnetate or (123)iodide represents a powerful tool for the study of sodium iodide symporter activity in different organs of living animal models. However, in many studies that have been performed in mice, the thyroid could not be distinguished from the salivary glands. In this work, we have evaluated the use of a clinically dedicated single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) camera for thyroid imaging and assessed what improvements are necessary for the development of this technique.

METHODS: SPECT of the mouse neck region, with pinhole collimation and geometric calibration, was used for the individual measurement of (99m)Tc pertechnetate uptake in the thyroid and the salivary glands. Uptake in the stomach was studied by planar whole-body imaging. Uptake kinetics and biodistribution studies were performed by sequential imaging.

RESULTS: This work has shown that thyroid imaging in living mice can be performed with a SPECT camera originally built for clinical use. Our experiments indicate that (99m)Tc pertechnetate uptake is faster in the thyroid than in the salivary glands and the stomach. The decrease in (99m)Tc pertechnetate uptake after injection of iodide or perchlorate as competitive inhibitors was also studied. The resulting rate decreases were faster in the thyroid than in the salivary glands or the stomach.

CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that a clinically dedicated SPECT camera can be used for thyroid imaging. In our experiments, SPECT imaging allowed the analysis of (99m)Tc pertechnetate accumulation in individual organs and revealed differences in uptake kinetics.