Liu Anqing, Tu Qingqiang, Huang Ming
School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Guangdong Province Hospital for Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment, Guangzhou, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 8;15(1):1353. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-82473-w.
Trimethyltin chloride (TMT), an organotin compound with potent neurotoxicity, is widely used as a heat stabilizer for plastics. However, the precise pathogenic mechanism of TMT remains incompletely elucidated, and there persists a dearth of sensitive detection methodologies for early diagnosis of TMT. In this study, Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 10 mg/kg TMT to simulate acute exposure in humans. Micro-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (Micro-PET/CT) and molecular imaging quantitative analysis tools were employed to calculate the uptake rate of 18 F-2-fluoro-D-deoxy-glucose in each functional region of brain tissue. At the same time, the neurobehavioral test and neuropathological results of the experimental rats were compared, aiming to assess the feasibility of PET/CT in the detection and localization of TMT nervous system damage from many aspects. The results showed that TMT decreased glucose uptake in a wide range of brain tissues in rats, and impaired the memory, muscle strength, coordination ability and emotion of rats. Moreover, TMT induced neuronal damage within the cerebral cortex, hippocampal CA1, CA3 and DG regions as well as the cerebellum while also promoting gliosis surrounding the hippocampus. PET/CT imaging results are highly consistent with behavioral and pathological results. In conclusion, TMT induces a widespread reduction in energy metabolism across various brain regions, and PET/CT can serve as a sensitive detection method for TMT-induced encephalopathy.
三甲基氯化锡（TMT）是一种具有强大神经毒性的有机锡化合物，被广泛用作塑料的热稳定剂。然而，TMT的确切致病机制仍未完全阐明，并且仍然缺乏用于TMT早期诊断的灵敏检测方法。在本研究中，用10毫克/千克的TMT处理Sprague-Dawley大鼠，以模拟人类的急性暴露情况。采用微型正电子发射断层扫描/计算机断层扫描（Micro-PET/CT）和分子成像定量分析工具来计算脑组织各功能区域中18F-2-氟-D-脱氧葡萄糖的摄取率。同时，比较实验大鼠的神经行为测试和神经病理学结果，旨在从多个方面评估PET/CT在检测和定位TMT神经系统损伤方面的可行性。结果表明，TMT降低了大鼠广泛脑组织中的葡萄糖摄取，并损害了大鼠的记忆力、肌肉力量、协调能力和情绪。此外，TMT诱导大脑皮质、海马CA1、CA3和DG区域以及小脑中的神经元损伤，同时还促进海马周围的胶质细胞增生。PET/CT成像结果与行为和病理结果高度一致。总之，TMT诱导各个脑区的能量代谢广泛降低，并且PET/CT可作为TMT诱导性脑病的灵敏检测方法。
