11C-acetoacetate

11C-acetoacetate is a positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceutical used as a metabolic tracer to quantify the uptake and utilization of ketone bodies in vivo. As a radiolabeled analog of the naturally occurring ketone body acetoacetate, it is transported into cells—primarily in the brain, heart, and kidneys—via monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). Once intracellular, it enters the ketolysis pathway where it is converted into acetoacetyl-CoA by the enzyme succinyl-CoA:3-ketoacid CoA transferase (SCOT) and subsequently metabolized in the mitochondria. This tracer is particularly valuable in neuroimaging research to study brain energy metabolism in neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease, where glucose metabolism is often impaired but ketone utilization may be preserved or altered. It is also used to investigate myocardial metabolism and the metabolic shifts associated with ketogenic diets or diabetes.

Other names

Carbon-11 acetoacetateCarbon11 acetoacetateCarbon 11 acetoacetate11C-labeled acetoacetate