Sex-dependent organ distribution of radiopharmaceuticals: effect of hormones on localization of acetyl-103Ru-ruthenocene.

This paper demonstrates modification of organ distribution of a radiopharmaceutical, acetyl-103Ru-ruthenocene, by competing drugs. This radiopharmaceutical concentrates in kidneys of male Wistar rats 15-fold higher than in females of the same strain and age. This concentration in the male is age-dependent. Moreover, the retention of that radiopharmaceutical in male rats' kidneys is markedly reduced by pre-treatment of the rats with estradiol, and this effect is dose-dependent. Estradiol is competetively inhibiting the retention of acetyl-ruthenocene by the kidneys, the same effect also being obtained by tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen used clinically for regression of mammary carcinoma. Blocking the retention of acetyl-ruthenocene was also obtained by testosterone and cyproterone-acetate, as well as by ovariectomy, but the block after castration was partially compensated with time. Blood clearance of acetyl-ruthenocene is biphasic, with a first t 1/2 of about 12 h, and a second t 1/2 of about 48 h. The retention of the label is sex-specific also in mice, but only the female mice show a high adrenal affinity and significant changes in its organ distribution. These effects may be due to competition of acetyl-ruthenocene for steroid receptors, or due to its activation of enzymes that are responsible for its transformation into a bindable moiety.