Automated Radiosynthesis of [11C]UCB-J for Imaging Synpatic Density by PET

An automated radiosynthesis of carbon-11 PET radiotracer [11C]UCB-J for imaging the synaptic density biomarker synaptic vesicle glycoprotein SV2A was established using Synthra RNPlus synthesizer. Commercially available trifluoroborate UCB-J analogue was used as a radiolabelling precursor and the desired radiolabelled product was isolated in 11 ± 2% (n = 7) non-decay corrected radiochemical yield and formulated as a 10% EtOH solution in saline with molar activities of 20-100 GBq/μmol. The method was based upon the palladium(0)-mediated Suzuki cross-coupling reaction and [11C]CH3I as a radiolabelling synthon. The isolated product was cGMP compliant as demonstrated by the results of quality control analysis.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Medical Research Council grant MR/K02308X/1

Heterozygous germ line hCHK2 mutations in Li-Fraumeni syndrome

The hCHK2 gene encodes the human homolog of the yeast Cds1 and Rad53 G 2 checkpoint kinases, whose activation in response to DNA damage prevents cellular entry into mitosis. Here, it is shown that heterozygous germ line mutations in hCHK2 occur in Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a highly penetrant familial cancer phenotype usually associated with inherited mutations in the TP53 gene. These observations suggest that hCHK2 is a tumor suppressor gene conferring predisposition to sarcoma, breast cancer, and brain tumors, and they also provide a link between the central role of p53 inactivation in human cancer and the well-defined G 2 checkpoint in yeast. </jats:p