Data concerning the pathophysiological role of the interaction of circulating S100 proteins, a multigenic family of Ca2+-modulated proteins, with the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) in cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory processes, and tumorigenesis it? vivo are scarce. One reason is the shortage of suitable radiotracer methods. We report a novel methodology using recombinant human S100A1, S100B, and S100A12 as potential probes for molecular imaging of this interaction. Therefore, human S100 proteins were cloned as GST fusion proteins in the bacterial expression vector pGEX-6P-1 and expressed in E. coli strain BL21. Purified recombinant human S100 proteins were radiolabeled with the positron emitter fluorine-18 (F-18) by conjugation with N-succinimidyl-4-[F-18]fluorobenzoate ([F-18]SFB). The radiolabeled recombinant S100 proteins (F-18-S100) were used in biodistribution experiments and small animal positron emission tomography (PET) studies in rats. The tissue-specific distribution of F-18-S100 proteins in vivo correlated well with the anatomical localization of RAGE, e.g., in lungs and in the vascular system. These findings indicate circulating S100A1, S100B, and S100A12 proteins to be ligands for RAGE in rats in vivo. The approach allows the use of small animal PET and provides novel probes to delineate functional expression of RAGE under normal and pathophysiological conditions in rodent models of disease. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.