1. Molecular imaging of lymphoid organs and immune activation by positron emission tomography with a new [18F]-labeled 2′-deoxycytidine analog
- Author
-
Radu, Caius G, Shu, Chengyi J, Nair-Gill, Evan, Shelly, Stephanie M, Barrio, Jorge R, Satyamurthy, Nagichettiar, Phelps, Michael E, and Witte, Owen N
- Subjects
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Immunology ,Bioengineering ,Biomedical Imaging ,Detection ,screening and diagnosis ,4.1 Discovery and preclinical testing of markers and technologies ,Animals ,Deoxycytidine ,Fluorine Radioisotopes ,Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ,Lymphoscintigraphy ,Mice ,Mice ,Inbred C57BL ,Mice ,Inbred MRL lpr ,Positron-Emission Tomography ,Radionuclide Imaging ,Radiopharmaceuticals ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,Tissue Distribution ,Medical and Health Sciences ,Biomedical and clinical sciences ,Health sciences - Abstract
Monitoring immune function with molecular imaging could have a considerable impact on the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of immunological disorders and therapeutic immune responses. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular imaging modality with applications in cancer and other diseases. PET studies of immune function have been limited by a lack of specialized probes. We identified [(18)F]FAC (1-(2'-deoxy-2'-[(18)F]fluoroarabinofuranosyl) cytosine) by differential screening as a new PET probe for the deoxyribonucleotide salvage pathway. [(18)F]FAC enabled visualization of lymphoid organs and was sensitive to localized immune activation in a mouse model of antitumor immunity. [(18)F]FAC microPET also detected early changes in lymphoid mass in systemic autoimmunity and allowed evaluation of immunosuppressive therapy. These data support the use of [(18)F]FAC PET for immune monitoring and suggest a wide range of clinical applications in immune disorders and in certain types of cancer.
- Published
- 2008