RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Comparison of <sup>18</sup>F-fluoromethylcholine and <sup>18</sup>F-fluorodeoxyglucose for the detection of inflamed atherosclerotic plaques in mice
JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine
JO J Nucl Med
FD Society of Nuclear Medicine
SP 460
OP 460
VO 55
IS supplement 1
A1 Hellberg, Sanna
A1 Silvola, Johanna
A1 Kiugel, Max
A1 Liljenbäck, Heidi
A1 Saukko, Pekka
A1 Ylä-Herttuala, Seppo
A1 Roivainen, Anne
A1 Knuuti, Juhani
A1 Saraste, Antti
YR 2014
UL http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/55/supplement_1/460.abstract
AB 460 Objectives Positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) has been used for the detection of inflamed atherosclerotic plaques, but imaging of coronary arteries is limited by high physiological uptake in the myocardium. We compared 18F-fluoromethylcholine (18F-FMCH), a marker of phospholipid metabolism, and 18F-FDG for the detection of inflamed atherosclerotic plaques in mouse aorta. Methods Hypercholesterolemic+diabetic IGF-II/LDLR-/-ApoB100/100 mice were injected with 10 MBq of 18F-FMCH (n=8, no fast) or 18F-FDG (n=8, 4-hour fast). Twenty or 90 minutes later, respectively, uptake of tracers was measured in the plaques and normal vessel wall by digital autoradiography of aortic sections. Radioactivity concentration was measured in the aorta, myocardium and blood by gamma counter. Plaque macrophages were detected by anti-Mac-3 immunohistochemical staining. Results The aortas of all mice showed large, macrophage-rich plaques. Aortic autoradiography showed strong accumulation of both 18F-FMCH and 18F-FDG in the atherosclerotic plaques with comparable plaque-to-normal vessel wall ratios (2.7±0.3 vs. 2.4±0.4, p=0.06). The highest 18F-FMCH uptake, up to 4 times higher than in the normal vessel wall, was seen in the plaques with the highest macrophage density. Aorta-to-blood ratios of 18F-FMCH and 18F-FDG were similar (4.6±2.2 vs. 3.2±0.8, p=0.13), but uptake of 18F-FMCH in the myocardium was 88 % lower (% of injected activity /gram of tissue 8.2±3.1 vs. 68±28, p&lt;0.001). Conclusions PET tracer 18F-FMCH is taken up in inflamed atherosclerotic plaques in the mouse aorta. The uptake of 18F-FMCH in plaques is comparable with that of 18F-FDG, and its lower uptake in the myocardium could be beneficial for coronary artery imaging.