Short-term thymidine uptake in normal and neoplastic tissues: studies for PET

Uptake of H-3 thymidine was studied in mice, both normal and with spontaneous lymphoma, and in the organs and tumors of dogs with spontaneous tumors. Uptake was compared with relative blood flow as measured by the distribution of C-14 iodoantipyrine. Initial distribution of thymidine in normal mice measured 20 sec after injection, correlated with the relative perfusion measurements; however, all measurements of thymidine uptake made between 1 and 60 min after injection showed no correlation with perfusion. This indicates that the distribution more than 1 min after injection is primarily dependent on subsequent redistribution and/or metabolism of thymidine. A time-course study demonstrated that normal mouse organs with high rates of proliferation retained all the labeled thymidine initially taken up. Organs with low rates of proliferation lost their label in a nearly exponential washout. These studies provide further evidence of the feasibility of using C-11 thymidine for positron emission tomography (PET).