PET/CT imaging of the late-gestation fetal brain in pregnant rats: A proof-of-concept study.

ABSTRACT: Preclinical PET studies offer the opportunity to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying early neurodevelopment with minimal invasiveness. We demonstrated the feasibility of fetal brain PET in four pregnant rats (n = 42 fetuses). [¹⁸F]FDG uptake in rat fetuses was readily visualized by PET imaging. Additionally, in vivo fetal brain [¹⁸F]FDG concentration (standardized uptake value (SUV)) was significantly correlated with ex vivo SUV from matched post-mortem brains (R² = 0.90, p < 0.001). We further investigated the effect of the dopamine receptor antagonist haloperidol on cerebral glucose metabolism (CMR_glu) and [¹¹C]raclopride binding in maternal and fetal brains. Dopamine D2 receptor blockade by haloperidol res

SUBMITTER: Pearson TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12417454 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature