Differential uptake of 2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose by normal and transformed chicken and mouse fibroblasts as a function...

Recently, [18F]-2-fluorodeoxyglucose, a positron emitter, has found an important application in certain metabolic studies using external scanning techniques. We have studied [14C]-2-fluorodeoxyglucose, [3H]-2-deoxyglucose and [14C]-D-glucose uptake in normal and transformed chicken and mouse fibroblasts to determine whether such external scanning techniques might be applicable to detect in vivo tumoral localisations. In this in vitro model, with glucose concentrations in the culture medium below that of normal animal blood, transformed cells showed a higher uptake of all three hexose tracers than did normal cells. However, at physiological glucose concentrations there was no differential uptake of these hexoses. Therefore our results suggest that [18F]-fluorodeoxy-glucose would be of no help in the in vivo detection of tumour localisations by external positron scanning unless in vitro and in vivo cell behavior differs considerably.