Radioiodinated tracers for the evaluation of dopamine receptors in the neonatal rat brain after hypoxic-ischemic injury

In order to evaluate in vivo single-photon emission tomography (SPET) method of assessing cerebral function after hypoxic-ischemic injury in human neonates, we studied D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in a rat model. Seven-day-old rats underwent permanent unilateral common carotid ligation followed by exposure to 8% O2. Two weeks later, in brains with no visible loss of hemispheric volume, striatal dopaminergic receptors were studied, with [125I]TISCH and [125I]IBZM for the D1 and D2 dopamine receptors, respectively. Using [125I]TISCH, we observed no modifications of D1 receptors, but in contrast, ex vivo and in vitro autoradiographic experiments showed a 40% decrease in the striatal binding of [125I]IBZM on both the ipsilateral and the contralateral side to the carotid ligation. These alterations were detected with IBZM, a D2 dopamine receptor ligand usable for SPET imaging. Therefore, exploration of D2 receptors by SPET in human neonates suffering from perinatal hypoxia-ischemia may be valuable for the diagnosis and follow-up of cerebral function damages.