Zonal differences in gallium-67 uptakes between perivenous versus periportal regions of rat liver following carbon tetrachloride treatment

Gallium-67 (⁶⁷Ga) has been used as a tumor or inflammation-imaging agent in nuclear medicine, although underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated. To gain some insights into the mechanism of ⁶⁷Ga uptake by injured liver, we analyzed the difference between perivenous and periportal regions of rat liver in terms of ⁶⁷Ga uptake by hepatocytes at the site of inflammation caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-treatment. Distribution of ⁶⁷Ga in rat liver sections was monitored with a BAS5000 system following hepatic injury by CCl₄-treatment. Periportal hepatocytes (PPH) and perivenous hepatocytes (PVH) were prepared by modified digitonin-collagenase perfusion technique. Uptakes of ⁶⁷Ga in PVH region and PPH region reached to a maximum 2 days after CCl₄-treatment, and the amount of maximum uptake of ⁶⁷Ga in PVH was twice as much as that in PPH. Liver damage as measured by lipid peroxidation and ⁴⁵Ca uptake occurred in PVH region within 1 day after CCl₄-treatment. Incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine into hepatocytes reached to a maximum 2 days after CCl₄-treatment, and peaked amount of DNA synthesis in PVH was twice as much as that in PPH. These results indicated that the uptake of ⁶⁷Ga by the PVH region was carried out during hepatic regeneration phase rather than hepatic damage period by CCl₄-treatment.