Development of a diagnostic method for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis by visualization of thymidine phosphorylase

• Project/Area Number: 15H06001
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Radiation science
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Higashikawa Kei 北海道大学, アイソトープ総合センター, 助教 (10756878)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,990,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥690,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: チミジンホスホリラーゼ / [123/125I]IIMU / 非アルコール性脂肪肝炎 / 核医学 / NASH / メチオニン・コリン欠乏食

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Our studies indicated that (1) the expression levels of TP gene and protein were significantly reduced in the liver of NASH model mice compared with that of control mice, and (2) the accumulation of [125I]IIMU was significantly decreased in the liver of of NASH model mice compared with control mice. Therefore, the nuclear medical imaging of TP by [123I]IIMU has the potential to be able to diagnose NASH.