Abstract
Previous work found that [(11)C]deschloroclozapine ([(11)C]DCZ) is superior to [(11)C]clozapine ([(11)C]CLZ) for imaging Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs). This study used PET to quantitatively and separately measure the signal from transfected receptors, endogenous receptors/targets, and non-displaceable binding in other brain regions to better understand this superiority. A genetically-modified muscarinic type-4 human receptor (hM(4)Di) was injected into the right amygdala of a male rhesus macaque. [(11)C]DCZ and [(11)C]CLZ PET scans were conducted 2-24 months later. Uptake was quantified relative to the concentration of parent radioligand in arterial plasma at baseline (n = 3 scans/radioligand) and after receptor blockade (n = 3 scans/radioligand). Both radioligands had greater uptake in the transfected region and displaceable uptake in other brain regions. Displaceable uptake was not uniformly distributed, perhaps representing off-target binding to endogenous receptor(s). After correction, [(11)C]DCZ signal was 19% of that for [(11)C]CLZ, and background uptake was 10% of that for [(11)C]CLZ. Despite stronger [(11)C]CLZ binding, the signal-to-background ratio for [(11)C]DCZ was almost two-fold greater than for [(11)C]CLZ. Both radioligands had comparable DREADD selectivity. All reference tissue models underestimated signal-to-background ratio in the transfected region by 40%-50% for both radioligands. Thus, the greater signal-to-background ratio of [(11)C]DCZ was due to its lower background uptake.