Main description:

Parameters such as membrane transport, metabolism and protein incorporation govern the fate of amino acids in living tissue. Is it possible to use positron tomography to measure some of them, and what is their meaning in normal and pathological situations? These questions have been addressed for a long time and no satisfactory answer has yet been given.
This book, which derives from an EEC workshop organized in the frame of the Concerted Action on `PET Investigation of Cellular Regeneration and Degeneration', held in Lyon in February 1992, gives the present state of knowledge in this field based on the most recent studies. Contributions from 24 leading European and American scientists are presented and discussed in the following four parts:

biochemistry and animal studies;
amino acids labelling with positron emittors, quality control and metabolites measurement;
kinetic modelling of amino acids transport, metabolism, and protein incorporation;
clinical use of amino acids.

This book will aid and interest biochemists, radiochemists, pharmacologists, neurologists, oncologists and medical imaging scientists.

Contents:

Preface. Part 1: Biochemistry and Animal Studies. 1. Cerebral protein turnover: aspects and problems; A. Lajtha, D. Dunlop, M. Banay-Schwartz. 2. Determination of regional rates of cerebral protein synthesis in vivo with L-[1-14C]leucine as the tracer amino acid; C. Beebe Smith. 3. Methionine metabolism in rat brain; P. Bobillier, E. Grange, A. Gharib, M. Leclerc, N. Sarda, P. Lepetit. 4. Protein synthesis studies in rats with methionine; A.M. Planas, C. Prenant, B.M. Mazoyer, S. Chadan, D. Comar, L. DiGiamberardino. Part 2: PET Radiochemistry. 5. Carbon-11 amino acids, labelling and metabolites; W. Vaalburg, P.H. Elsinga, A.M.J. Paans. 6. Quality control aspects in the preparation of [11C]-methionine; K. Noegren. 7. Production of L-[18F]fluoro amino acids for protein synthesis: overview and recent developments in nucleophilic syntheses; C. Lemaire. 8. Biochemistry and evaluation of fluoroamino acids; H.H. Coenen. Part 3: Amino Acid Uptake Modelling. 9. Kinetic modelling of fluorotyrosine uptake; K. Wienhard, K. Herholz, H.H. Coenen, J. Rudolf, P. Kling, G. Stoecklin, W.-D. Heiss. 10. Kinetic modelling of carbon-11 labelled amino acids; G. Blomqvist. 11. Carbon-11 labelled tyrosine as a probe for modelling the protein synthesis rate; A.M.J. Paans, P.H. Elsinga, W. Vaalburg. 12. Kinetic modelling of carbon-11 labelled methionine; H. Lundqvist. 13. Apporaches to quantitative analysis of amino acid transport and metabolism; G.-J. Meyer, J. van den Hoff, W. Burchert, H. Hundeshagen.14. 11C-methionine and 82rubidium uptake in human brain tumors: comparison of carrier dependent blood-brain barrier transport; Y. Roelcke, E.W. Radu, K.L. Leenders. Part 4: Clinical Applications. 15. Tracers for clinical evaluation of gliomas: a neurologist's view; K. Herholz. 16. PET studies of amino acid metabolism: integration in clinical routine and current research on intracranial tumours; K. Ericson. 17. Uptake of [11C]methionine in non-brain tumors; S. Leskinen-Kallio. 18. Utilization of amino acid transport rates for the differential diagnosis of brain tumors; G.-J. Meyer, W. Burchert, K.-F. Gratz, H. Hundeshagen. 19. Use of amino acid uptake and protein synthesis rates for tumour diagnosis; H. Lundqvist. 20. 11C-methionine uptake in brain tumors measured by PET: early clinical results; B. Sadzot, B. Kaschten, G. Delfiore, J.M. Peters, A. Stevenaert, G. Franck, D. Comar. 21. 11C-labelled methionine uptake in gliomas: modification after therapy and metbolic correlations; M.-C. Petit-Taboue, F. Dauphin, J.-M. Derlon. 22. In vivo incorporation of labelled methionine into proteins in brain tumors; A.M. Planas, B. Kaschten, B. Sadzot, A. Stevenaert, L. DiGiamberardino, D. Comar.