Survival of rabbit platelets labeled with gallium 67

The viability of rabbit platelets labeled with radioactive gallium was determined to analyze the feasibility of using platelets labeled with gallium 68 as an imaging reagent for positron emission tomography. Platelets were labeled with a complex of the longer lived gallium 67 and mercaptopyridine-N-oxide (MPO) or with sodium chromate Cr 51. Their survival after transfusion was measured. Labelling efficiency of 67Ga-MPO was 6.5% to 45.8% (26.8% +/- 2.8%) when platelets were suspended in saline solution, but was much lower (1.6% +/- 0.8%) in plasma. Platelets labeled with either radioisotope in a saline medium survived as well as platelets labeled with 51Cr in plasma. Recovery values 1 hour after transfusion and mean platelet survivals were 68.6% +/- 4.9% and 3.4 +/- 0.2 days for 67Ga in saline solution, 76.5% +/- 6.8% and 3.8 +/- 0.5 days for 51Cr in saline solution, and 73.7% +/- 7.4% and 3.6 +/- 0.5 days for 51Cr in plasma. Labeled platelet concentrates always contained extra radioactivity not firmly bound to viable platelets. A postlabeling wash in saline solution did not reduce this contamination and resulted in reduction of the number of viable platelets. The results showed that rabbit platelets labeled with 67Ga-MPO survived in the circulation as well as those labeled by a standard protocol with sodium chromate Cr 51.