Evaluation of deuterated [¹⁸F]JHU94620 for imaging cannabinoid type 2 receptors in rodent and monkey brain.

ABSTRACT: PET imaging of cannabinoid type-2 receptors (CB2Rs) in the healthy brain remains challenging due to low receptor density and the unavailability of radiotracers with high affinity and selectivity. Because some carbon-deuterium bonds are less susceptible than carbon-proton bonds to enzymatic cleavage, deuteration of [¹⁸F]JHU94620 was pursued to potentially slow its metabolism. This study: (1) evaluated the sensitivity of a heavily deuterated version of the agonist [¹⁸F]JHU94620 ([¹⁸F]JHU94620-d₈) to detect brain CB2Rs in healthy Sprague-Dawley rats and monkeys and in a rat model of inflammation; (2) assessed the metabolic stability of [¹⁸F]JHU94620 and [¹⁸F]JHU94620-d₈ in whole blood, plasma, and brain

SUBMITTER: Maqbool M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12446274 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature