Effect of Off-Target Binding on 18F-Flortaucipir Variability in Healthy Controls Across the Life Span
Abstract
Measuring early tau accumulation is important in studying aging and Alzheimer disease and is only as accurate as the signal-to-noise ratio of the tracer. Along with aggregated tau in the form of neurofibrillary tangles, 18F-flortaucipir has been reported to bind to neuromelanin, monoamine oxidase, calcifications, iron, leptomeningeal melanocytes, and microhemorrages. Although 18F-flortaucipir successfully differentiates healthy controls (HCs) from subjects with Alzheimer disease, variability exists in the cortical signal in amyloid-negative HCs. We aimed to explore the relationship between off-target binding signal and variability in the cortical signal in HCs. Methods: Subjects ($$n$$ = 139) received 11C-Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) and 18F-flortaucipir PET scans and a magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo MRI scan. PET frames were realigned and coregistered to the MR images, which were segmented using FreeSurfer. In amyloid-negative HCs ($$n$$ = 90; age range, 21-94 y), 7 nonspecific or off-target binding regions were considered: caudate, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, cerebellar white matter, hemispheric white matter, and choroid plexus. These regions of interest were assigned to 3 similarly behaving groups using principle components analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and Pearson correlations for caudate, putamen, and pallidum (also correlated with age); thalamus and white matter; and choroid plexus. In amyloid-negative HCs with 11C-PIB and 18F-flortaucipir scans, correlations were calculated between white and gray matter before and after partial-volume correction. Results: The correlation between white and gray matter disappeared after partial-volume correction in 11C-PIB (r2 = 0) but persisted for 18F-flortaucipir (r2 = 0.27), demonstrating that the correlation between white and gray matter signal in 18F-flortaucipir is not solely due to partial-volume effects. A linear regression showed that off-target signal from putamen and thalamus together explained 64% of the variability in the cortical signal in amyloid-negative HCs (not seen in amyloid-positive HCs). Variability in amyloid-negative HCs but not amyloid-positive HCs correlated with white matter signal (unrelated to partial-volume effects) and age-related off-target signal (possibly related to iron load). Conclusion: The noise in the 18F-flortaucipir measurement could pose challenges when studying early tau accumulation.
- Authors:
-
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg (Germany)
- Univ. of California, San Francisco, CA (United States)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1580852
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Nuclear Medicine
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 60; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 0161-5505
- Publisher:
- Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE; tau; 18F-flortaucipir PET; off-target binding
Citation Formats
Baker, Suzanne L, Harrison, Theresa M, Maass, Anne, La Joie, Renaud, and Jagust, William J. Effect of Off-Target Binding on 18F-Flortaucipir Variability in Healthy Controls Across the Life Span. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.2967/jnumed.118.224113.
Baker, Suzanne L, Harrison, Theresa M, Maass, Anne, La Joie, Renaud, & Jagust, William J. Effect of Off-Target Binding on 18F-Flortaucipir Variability in Healthy Controls Across the Life Span. United States. https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.118.224113
Baker, Suzanne L, Harrison, Theresa M, Maass, Anne, La Joie, Renaud, and Jagust, William J. Fri .
"Effect of Off-Target Binding on 18F-Flortaucipir Variability in Healthy Controls Across the Life Span". United States. https://doi.org/10.2967/jnumed.118.224113. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1580852.
@article{osti_1580852,
title = {Effect of Off-Target Binding on 18F-Flortaucipir Variability in Healthy Controls Across the Life Span},
author = {Baker, Suzanne L and Harrison, Theresa M and Maass, Anne and La Joie, Renaud and Jagust, William J},
abstractNote = {Measuring early tau accumulation is important in studying aging and Alzheimer disease and is only as accurate as the signal-to-noise ratio of the tracer. Along with aggregated tau in the form of neurofibrillary tangles, 18F-flortaucipir has been reported to bind to neuromelanin, monoamine oxidase, calcifications, iron, leptomeningeal melanocytes, and microhemorrages. Although 18F-flortaucipir successfully differentiates healthy controls (HCs) from subjects with Alzheimer disease, variability exists in the cortical signal in amyloid-negative HCs. We aimed to explore the relationship between off-target binding signal and variability in the cortical signal in HCs. Methods: Subjects ($n$ = 139) received 11C-Pittsburgh compound B (PIB) and 18F-flortaucipir PET scans and a magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo MRI scan. PET frames were realigned and coregistered to the MR images, which were segmented using FreeSurfer. In amyloid-negative HCs ($n$ = 90; age range, 21-94 y), 7 nonspecific or off-target binding regions were considered: caudate, pallidum, putamen, thalamus, cerebellar white matter, hemispheric white matter, and choroid plexus. These regions of interest were assigned to 3 similarly behaving groups using principle components analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and Pearson correlations for caudate, putamen, and pallidum (also correlated with age); thalamus and white matter; and choroid plexus. In amyloid-negative HCs with 11C-PIB and 18F-flortaucipir scans, correlations were calculated between white and gray matter before and after partial-volume correction. Results: The correlation between white and gray matter disappeared after partial-volume correction in 11C-PIB (r2 = 0) but persisted for 18F-flortaucipir (r2 = 0.27), demonstrating that the correlation between white and gray matter signal in 18F-flortaucipir is not solely due to partial-volume effects. A linear regression showed that off-target signal from putamen and thalamus together explained 64% of the variability in the cortical signal in amyloid-negative HCs (not seen in amyloid-positive HCs). Variability in amyloid-negative HCs but not amyloid-positive HCs correlated with white matter signal (unrelated to partial-volume effects) and age-related off-target signal (possibly related to iron load). Conclusion: The noise in the 18F-flortaucipir measurement could pose challenges when studying early tau accumulation.},
doi = {10.2967/jnumed.118.224113},
journal = {Journal of Nuclear Medicine},
number = 10,
volume = 60,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Fri Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
Web of Science
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