TY - JOUR
T1 - In vivo molecular imaging of the GABA/benzodiazepine receptor complex in the aged rat brain
AU - Hoekzema, Elseline
AU - Rojas, Santiago
AU - Herance, Raúl
AU - Pareto, Deborah
AU - Abad, Sergio
AU - Jiménez, Xavier
AU - Figueiras, Francisca P.
AU - Popota, Foteini
AU - Ruiz, Alba
AU - Flotats, N. ria
AU - Fernández, Francisco J.
AU - Rocha, Milagros
AU - Rovira, Mariana
AU - Víctor, V. ctor M.
AU - Gispert, Juan D.
PY - 2012/7
Y1 - 2012/7
N2 - The GABA-ergic system, known to regulate neural tissue genesis during cortical development, has been postulated to play a role in cerebral aging processes. Using in vivo molecular imaging and voxel-wise quantification, we aimed to assess the effects of aging on the benzodiazepine (BDZ) recognition site of the GABAA receptor. To visualize BDZ site availability, [11C]-flumazenil microPET acquisitions were conducted in young and old rats. The data were analyzed and region of interest analyses were applied to validate the voxel-wise approach. We observed decreased [11C]-flumazenil binding in the aged rat brains in comparison with the young control group. More specifically, clusters of reduced radioligand uptake were detected in the bilateral hippocampus, cerebellum, midbrain, and bilateral frontal and parieto-occipital cortex. Our results support the pertinence of voxel-wise quantification in the analysis of microPET data. Moreover, these findings indicate that the aging process involves declines in neural BDZ recognition site availability, proposed to reflect alterations in GABAA receptor subunit polypeptide expression. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
AB - The GABA-ergic system, known to regulate neural tissue genesis during cortical development, has been postulated to play a role in cerebral aging processes. Using in vivo molecular imaging and voxel-wise quantification, we aimed to assess the effects of aging on the benzodiazepine (BDZ) recognition site of the GABAA receptor. To visualize BDZ site availability, [11C]-flumazenil microPET acquisitions were conducted in young and old rats. The data were analyzed and region of interest analyses were applied to validate the voxel-wise approach. We observed decreased [11C]-flumazenil binding in the aged rat brains in comparison with the young control group. More specifically, clusters of reduced radioligand uptake were detected in the bilateral hippocampus, cerebellum, midbrain, and bilateral frontal and parieto-occipital cortex. Our results support the pertinence of voxel-wise quantification in the analysis of microPET data. Moreover, these findings indicate that the aging process involves declines in neural BDZ recognition site availability, proposed to reflect alterations in GABAA receptor subunit polypeptide expression. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84861195206&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21272959
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2010.12.006
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2010.12.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 21272959
SN - 0197-4580
VL - 33
SP - 1457
EP - 1465
JO - Neurobiology of aging
JF - Neurobiology of aging
IS - 7
ER -