Tobacco Smoking in People Is Not Associated with Altered 18-kDa Translocator Protein Levels: A PET Study.

ABSTRACT: The effects of tobacco smoking on the immune system of the brain are not well elucidated. Although nicotine is immunosuppressive, other constituents in tobacco smoke have inflammatory effects. PET imaging of the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) provides a biomarker for microglia, the primary immunocompetent cells of the brain. This work compared brain TSPO levels in 20 tobacco smokers (abstinent for at least 2 h) and 20 nonsmokers using a fully quantitative modeling approach for the first time, to our knowledge. Methods:¹¹C-PBR28 (N-((2-(methoxy-¹¹C)-phenyl)methyl)-N-(6-phenoxy-3-pyridinyl)acetamide) PET scans were acquired with arterial blood sampling to estimate the metabolite-corrected input function. ¹¹C-PBR28 volumes of distribut

SUBMITTER: Hillmer AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7413239 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature