Clinical translation of 18F-fluoropivalate - a PET tracer for imaging short-chain fatty acid metabolism: safety, biodistribution, and dosimetry in fed and fasted healthy volunteers

Background Fatty acids derived de novo or taken up from the extracellular space are an essential source of nutrient for cell growth and proliferation. Radiopharmaceuticals including C-11-acetate, and F-18-FAC (2-F-18-fluoroacetate), have previously been used to study short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolism. We developed F-18-fluoropivalate (F-18-FPIA; 3-F-18-fluoro-2,2-dimethylpropionic acid) bearing a gem-dimethyl substituent to assert metabolic stability for studying SCFA metabolism. We report the safety, biodistribution, and internal radiation dosimetry profile of F-18-FPIA in 24 healthy volunteers and the effect of dietary conditions. Materials and methods Healthy volunteer male and female subjects were enrolled (n = 24), and grouped into 12 fed and 12 fasted. Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and carnitine blood measurements were assessed. Subjects received 159.48 MBq (range, 47.31-164.66 MBq) of F-18-FPIA. Radiochemical purity was > 99%. Safety data were obtained during and 24 h after radiotracer administration. Subjects underwent detailed multiple whole-body PET/CT scanning with sampling of venous bloods for radioactivity and radioactive metabolite quantification. Regions of interest were defined to derive individual and mean organ residence times; effective dose was calculated using OLINDA 1.1. Results All subjects tolerated F-18-FPIA with no adverse events. Over 90% of radiotracer was present in plasma at 60 min post-injection. The organs receiving highest absorbed dose (in mGy/MBq) were the liver (0.070 +/- 0.023), kidneys (0.043 +/- 0.013), gallbladder wall (0.026 +/- 0.003), and urinary bladder (0.021 +/- 0.004); otherwise there was low tissue uptake. The calculated effective dose using mean organ residence times over all 24 subjects was 0.0154 mSv/MBq (SD +/- 0.0010). No differences in biodistribution or dosimetry were seen in fed and fasted subjects, though systemic NEFA and carnitine levels reflected fasted and fed states. Conclusion The favourable safety, imaging, and dosimetric profile makes F-18-FPIA a promising candidate radiotracer for tracing SCFA metabolism.