Synthesis and biological evaluation of 10-(11) C-dihydrotetrabenazine as a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 radioligand.

In this study, we synthesized a new carbon-11-labeled radiotracer, 10-(11) C-dihydrotetrabenazine (10-(11) C-DTBZ), and evaluated its potential as a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) radioligand. The radiolabeled precursor 10-O-desmethyl-dihydrotetrabenazine (10-O-desmethyl-DTBZ) was prepared with a six-step reaction using 3-methoxy-4-benzyloxybenzaldehyde as starting material. 10-(11) C-DTBZ was synthesized by heating 1.0 mg of 10-hydroxy precursor and (11) C-methyl iodide in the presence of 0.3 mL of dimethyl sulfoxide and 4.0 µL of 3 N KOH at room temperature for 3 min. After purification by solid phase extraction using an alumina Sep-Pak cartridge, the final 10-(11) C-DTBZ product was obtained with a radiochemical purity of >99% and an uncorrected radiochemical yield of 18-26% (end of bombardment (EOB), n = 6). The overall synthesis time was approximately 20 min from the EOB to release of the product for quality control. Using small-animal positron emission tomography (microPET), the striatum of normal rats was found to exhibit symmetrical labeling (STR /STL  = 0.98 ± 0.05, n = 3) and the highest uptake of radioactivity (striatum/cerebellum, ST/CB = 2.89 ± 0.31 at 30-60 min, n = 3). In contrast, rats with 6-hydroxydopamine unilateral lesions yielded asymmetrical striatal images with a higher 10-(11) C-DTBZ concentration on the unlesioned side (STunlesioned /CB = 2.53 ± 0.18, at 30-60 min, n = 3) compared with the lesioned side (STlesioned /CB = 1.26 ± 0.10, n = 3). These results suggest that 10-(11) C-DTBZ may represent a promising PET radiotracer for imaging VMAT2.