Through close and longstanding collaboration with the Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center at Aarhus University Hospital, we are conducting radioligand binding studies.
The equipment can be found at the PET Preclinical Facility at Aarhus University Hospital
The Mediso nanoScan PET/MRI system integrates high-resolution PET with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), providing comprehensive anatomical and functional imaging for preclinical research. It features a 1 Tesla superconducting MRI magnet, offering high-quality soft tissue imaging without significant magnetic fringe fields, allowing flexible placement within research facilities. (mediso.com) The nanoScan PET/MRI system provides researchers with powerful tools for in-depth anatomical and functional analysis, facilitating advancements in various fields such as oncology, neurology, and cardiovascular research.
Through close collaborations with the radiochemists at the Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, we use short-lived PET ligands labeled with 11C or 18F in rodent models to assess monoamine neurotransmission, protein aggregation, neuroinflammation, presynaptic density and glucose metabolism in vivo. Due to the non-invasive nature of microPET, we can conduct longitudinal investigations (where the same animal is imaged multiple times) to study disease progression as well as acute and chronic responses to potential therapy. We also perform drug challenge studies to investigate neurotransmitter release. Finally, we are using microPET to trial novel PET ligands developed by the PET Center radiochemists.
1: Binda KH, Real CC, Simonsen MT, Grove EK, Bender D, Gjedde A, Brooks DJ, Landau AM. Acute transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation modulates presynaptic SV2A density in healthy rat brain: An in vivo microPET study. Psychophysiology. 2025 Jan;62(1):e14709. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14709.
2: Thomsen MB, Jacobsen J, Lillethorup TP, Schacht AC, Simonsen M, Romero-Ramos M, Brooks DJ, Landau AM. In vivo imaging of synaptic SV2A protein density in healthy and striatal-lesioned rats with [11C]UCB-J PET. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2021 Apr;41(4):819-830. doi: 10.1177/0271678X20931140.
3: Thomsen MB, Ferreira SA, Schacht AC, Jacobsen J, Simonsen M, Betzer C, Jensen PH, Brooks DJ, Landau AM, Romero-Ramos M. PET imaging reveals early and progressive dopaminergic deficits after intra-striatal injection of preformed alpha-synuclein fibrils in rats. Neurobiol Dis. 2021 Feb;149:105229. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105229.
4: Vibholm AK, Landau AM, Møller A, Jacobsen J, Vang K, Munk OL, Orlowski D, Sørensen JC, Brooks DJ. NMDA receptor ion channel activation detected in vivo with [18F]GE-179 PET after electrical stimulation of rat hippocampus. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2021 Jun;41(6):1301-1312. doi: 10.1177/0271678X20954928.
5: Thomsen MB, Lillethorup TP, Jakobsen S, Nielsen EH, Simonsen M, Wegener G, Landau AM, Tasker RA. Neonatal domoic acid alters in vivo binding of [11C]yohimbine to α2-adrenoceptors in adult rat brain. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2016 Oct;233(21-22):3779-3785. doi: 10.1007/s00213-016-4416-5.
6: Landau AM, Phan JA, Iversen P, Lillethorup TP, Simonsen M, Wegener G, Jakobsen S, Doudet DJ. Decreased in vivo α2 adrenoceptor binding in the Flinders Sensitive Line rat model of depression. Neuropharmacology. 2015 Apr;91:97-102. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.12.025.