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Introduction: Evaluation of disease severity in experimental models of rheumatoid arthritis is inevitably associated with assessment of structural bone damage. A noninvasive imaging technology allowing objective quantification of pathophysiological alterations of bone structure in rodents could substantially extend the methods used to date in preclinical arthritis research for staging of autoimmune disease severity or efficacy of therapeutical intervention. Sodium 18 F-fluoride (18 F-NaF) is a bone-seeking tracer well-suited for molecular imaging. Therefore, we systematically examined the use of 18 F-NaF positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in mice with glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (G6PI)-induced arthritis for quantification of pathological bone metabolism., Methods: F-fluoride was injected into mice before disease onset and at various time points of progressing experimental arthritis. Radioisotope accumulation in joints in the fore- and hindpaws was analyzed by PET measurements. For validation of bone metabolism quantified by 18 F-fluoride PET, bone surface parameters of high-resolution μCT measurements were used., Results: Before clinical arthritis onset, no distinct accumulation of 18 F-fluoride was detectable in the fore- and hindlimbs of mice immunized with G6PI. In the course of experimental autoimmune disease, 18 F-fluoride bone uptake was increased at sites of enhanced bone metabolism caused by pathophysiological processes of autoimmune disease. Moreover, 18 F-fluoride signaling at different stages of G6PI-induced arthritis was significantly correlated with the degree of bone destruction. CT enabled identification of exact localization of 18 F-fluoride signaling in bone and soft tissue., Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that small-animal PET/CT using 18 F-fluoride as a tracer is a feasible method for quantitative assessment of pathophysiological bone metabolism in experimental arthritis. Furthermore, the possibility to perform repeated noninvasive measurements in vivo allows longitudinal study of therapeutical intervention monitoring.

Introduction: The purpose of this work was to establish and validate combined small animal positron emission tomography - computed tomography (PET/CT) as a new in vivo imaging method for visualisation and quantification of joint inflammation., Methods: Signalling of radioisotope ¹⁸F labelled Fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) injected in mice with glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (G6PI)-induced arthritis was analysed by PET/CT. Accumulation of ¹⁸F-FDG in tissue was quantified by PET measurement, whereas high definition CT delivered anatomical information. The fusion of both images revealed in detail spatial and temporal distribution and metabolism of ¹⁸F-FDG., Results: A distinct ¹⁸F-FDG signal could be measured by PET in carpal and tarsal joints, from mice with early or established arthritis. In contrast, no accumulation of ¹⁸F-FDG was detectable before arthritis onset. Comparison of ¹⁸F-FDG joint uptake with histopathological evaluation revealed a significant correlation of both methods., Conclusions: Small animal PET/CT using ¹⁸F-FDG is a feasible method for monitoring and, more importantly, quantitative assessment of inflammation in G6PI-arthritis. Since it is possible to perform repeated non-invasive measurements in vivo, not only numbers of animals in preclinical studies can markedly be reduced by this method, but also longitudinal studies come into reach, e. g. for individual flare-up reactions or monitoring therapy response in progressive arthritis.