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. 2022 Jun 26:77:100065.
doi: 10.1016/j.clinsp.2022.100065. eCollection 2022.

Rat thyroid graft transplantation after cryopreservation with scintigraphic standardization for an experimental study

Alberto Schanaider  1 , Thiago Barboza  2 , Marcel Vasconcellos  1 , Gabriel Gutfilen-Schlesinger  2 , Sergio Augusto Lopes de Souza  3
Affiliations

Rat thyroid graft transplantation after cryopreservation with scintigraphic standardization for an experimental study

Alberto Schanaider et al. Clinics (Sao Paulo). .

Abstract

Purpose: Budget cuts among other factors undermine the use of state-of-the-art equipment by many research groups. This doesn't mean that their scientific data are not reliable or top-notch. Resort to adaptations is a recurrent need in their reality. The aim of this study was to assess whether scintigraphy with 99mTcO4 is effective in evaluating the functionality of thyroid grafts after cryopreservation in rats.

Material and methods: 24 rats were randomly distributed into 3 groups: Control Group (CG), without surgical procedure, Hypothyroidism Group (HTG), submitted to total thyroidectomy, and Transplanted Group (TG), with total thyroidectomy and cryopreservation of the thyroid gland for 7 days followed by grafting of a thyroid lobe. A protocol using a gamma camera imaging was conducted fourteen weeks after transplantation, and the whole body 99mTc, focusing on the topic of heterotopic thyroid uptake was evaluated.

Results: The images acquired had good quality with no noise and artifacts that could jeopardize its analysis. On the 14th day, HTG displayed no thyroid uptake, and the TG had a clear uptake of the thyroid graft in the topography of the biceps femoris muscle. Presented data also showed that both equipment spatial resolution and alignment (4.375 mm) did not interfere with the physiological uptake of 99mTc by the thyroid graft.

Conclusion: The viability and functionality of cryopreserved thyroid autotransplantation in rats who underwent total thyroidectomy were successfully accessed by the scintigraphy protocol developed.

Keywords: (99m)Tc; Nuclear Medicine; Scintigraphy; Single photon emission computed tomography; Thyroidectomy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Whole body planar 99mTc scintigraphy in CG of rats. 99mTc biodistribution on the 14th day revealing higher uptake in thyroid (arrow), stomach (X) and bladder (*).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Whole body planar 99mTc scintigraphy in thyroidectomized rats. 99mTc biodistribution on the 14th day revealing no uptake on thyroid topography (arrow), while radioactive accumulation is seen on stomach (X), and bladder (*).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Whole body planar 99mTc scintigraphy in TG rats. 99mTc biodistribution on the 14th day revealing (A) heterotopic graft with a higher uptake on the right thigh (circle) and stomach (X), and bladder radioactive accumulation (*). (B) ROI centered on the right hind leg showing higher uptake (circle).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Ex vivo graft vs. biceps femoris muscle 99mTc-biodistribution. 10-minute 99mTc-planar scintigraphy biodistribution on the 14th day revealing (A) excinded thyroid graft with radionuclide accumulation. (B) Previously attached graft region, biceps femoris muscle, after graft excision with no radioactive emission.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
N-fold boxplot of 99mTc uptake in TG graft vs. contralateral femoris biceps muscle. Graft uptake in TG was statistically higher (p = 0.001) than contralateral femoris biceps of the same group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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