Transport of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([18F]FDG) by the multidrug efflux transporters P-glycoprotein (ABCB1) and breast cancer resistance protein (ABCG2) at the blood–brain barrier (BBB) may confound the interpretation of [18F]FDG brain PET data. Aim of this study was to assess the influence of ABCB1 and ABCG2 at the BBB on brain distribution of [18F]FDG in vivo by performing [18F]FDG PET scans in wild-type and transporter knockout mice and by evaluating changes in [18F]FDG brain distribution after transporter inhibition.Dynamic small-animal PET experiments (60min) were performed with [18F]FDG in groups of wild-type and transporter knockout mice (Abcb1a/b(−/−), Abcg2(−/−) and Abcb1a/b(−/−)Abcg2(−/−)) and in wild-type rats without and with i.v. pretreatment with the known ABCB1 inhibitor tariquidar (15mg/kg, given at 2h before PET). Blood was sampled from animals from the orbital sinus vein at the end of the PET scans and measured in a gamma counter. Brain uptake of [18F]FDG was expressed as the brain-to-blood radioactivity concentration ratio in the last PET time frame (Kb,brain).Kb,brain values of [18F]FDG were not significantly different between different mouse types both without and with tariquidar pretreatment. The blood-to-brain transfer rate constant of [18F]FDG was significantly lower in tariquidar-treated as compared with vehicle-treated rats (0.350±0.025mL/min/g versus 0.416±0.024mL/min/g, p=0.026, paired t-test) but Kb,brain values were not significantly different between both rat groups.Our results show that [18F]FDG is not transported by Abcb1 at the mouse and rat BBB in vivo. In addition we found no evidence for Abcg2 transport of [18F]FDG at the mouse BBB.Our findings imply that functional activity of ABCB1 and ABCG2 at the BBB does not need to be taken into account when interpreting brain [18F]FDG PET data.