Simultaneous in vivo measurements of receptor density and affinity using [11C]flumazenil and positron emission tomography: comparison of full saturation and steady state methods.

The binding of PET radiotracer [(11)C]flumazenil to the GABA(A) receptors is described by the receptor density (B(max)) and binding affinity (K(D)). The estimation of B(max) and K(D) is usually based on Scatchard analysis including at least two PET scans at steady state of various specific activities. Recently, a novel full saturation method to estimate both B(max) and K(D) was proposed, in which a saturating dose of flumazenil is given to cover a wide range of different receptor occupancies within a single scan. The aim of the present study was a direct comparison of steady state and full saturation methods for determining B(max) and K(D) of [(11)C]flumazenil in the same group of male Sprague-Dawley rats. Fourteen rats underwent 3 consecutive [(11)C]flumazenil scans of 30 min duration each. A tracer dose was injected at the start of the first scan. Prior to the second scan the tracer was mixed with 5, 20, 100 or 500 μg unlabelled (cold) flumazenil to cover a wide range of receptor occupancies during the scan. The third scan was performed during a constant intravenous infusion of unlabelled flumazenil, resulting in ~50% GABA(A) receptor occupancy. The first and third scans were part of the steady state method, whilst the second scan was performed according to the full saturation method. For both methods, B(max) and K(D) were then derived by compartmental modelling. Both methods yielded similar B(max) and K(D) estimates. The full saturation method yielded B(max) values of 37 ± 5.8 ng · mL(-1) and K(D) values of 7.6 ± 2.0 ng · mL(-1), whilst the steady state method yielded B(max) values of 33 ± 5.4 ng · mL(-1) and K(D) values of 7.1 ± 0.8 ng · mL(-1). The main advantage of the full saturation method is that B(max) and K(D) can be obtained from a single PET scan.