Calcagno Claudia, Cornily Jean-Christophe, Hyafil Fabien, Rudd James H F, Briley-Saebo Karen C, Mani Venkatesh, Goldschlager Gregg, Machac Josef, Fuster Valentin, Fayad Zahi A
FAHA, FACC, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1234, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008 Jul;28(7):1311-7. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.108.166173. Epub 2008 May 8.
The association of inflammatory cells and neovessels in atherosclerosis is considered a histological hallmark of high-risk active lesions. Therefore, the development and validation of noninvasive imaging techniques that allow for the detection of inflammation and neoangiogenesis in atherosclerosis would be of major clinical interest. Our aim was to test 2 techniques, black blood dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and 18-fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET, to quantify inflammation expressed as plaque neovessels content in a rabbit model of atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerotic plaques were induced in the aorta of 10 rabbits by a combination of 2 endothelial abrasions and 4 months hyperlipidemic diet. Six rabbits underwent MRI during the injection of Gd-DTPA, whereas 4 rabbits were imaged after injection of 18F-FDG with PET. We found a positive correlation between neovessels count in atherosclerotic plaques and (1) Gd-DTPA uptake parameters evaluated by DCE-MRI (r=0.89, P=0.016) and (2) 18F-FDG uptake evaluated by PET (r=0.5, P=0.103 after clustered robust, Huber-White, standard errors analysis).
DCE-MRI and 18F-FDG PET may allow for the evaluation of inflammation in atherosclerotic plaques of rabbits. These noninvasive imaging modalities could be proposed as clinical tools in the evaluation of lesion prognosis and monitoring of anti-angiogenic therapies.
动脉粥样硬化中炎症细胞与新生血管的关联被认为是高危活性病变的组织学标志。因此，开发和验证能够检测动脉粥样硬化中炎症和新生血管生成的非侵入性成像技术具有重大临床意义。我们的目的是测试两种技术，即黑血动态对比增强磁共振成像（DCE-MRI）和18氟脱氧葡萄糖（18F-FDG）正电子发射断层显像（PET），以量化兔动脉粥样硬化模型中以斑块新生血管含量表示的炎症。
通过两次内皮损伤和4个月高脂饮食相结合的方法，在10只兔的主动脉中诱导出动脉粥样硬化斑块。6只兔在注射钆喷酸葡胺（Gd-DTPA）期间接受磁共振成像，而4只兔在注射18F-FDG后用PET进行成像。我们发现动脉粥样硬化斑块中的新生血管计数与（1）通过DCE-MRI评估的Gd-DTPA摄取参数之间呈正相关（r = 0.89，P = 0.016），以及（2）通过PET评估的18F-FDG摄取之间呈正相关（经过聚类稳健、休伯-怀特标准误差分析后，r = 0.5，P = 0.103）。
DCE-MRI和18F-FDG PET可能有助于评估兔动脉粥样硬化斑块中的炎症。这些非侵入性成像方式可作为评估病变预后和监测抗血管生成治疗的临床工具。
