Zhang Yaohui, Li Jie, Lü Longbao, Li Yuanyuan, Yang Zhiyu, Yang Shici, Zhu Xiangqing, He Rui, Pan Xinghua, Zhu Gaohong
Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 295 Xichang Road, Wuhua District, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650032, China.
Kunming Primate Research Center, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan Province, 650032, China.
Stem Cell Res Ther. 2025 Aug 22;16(1):448. doi: 10.1186/s13287-025-04533-w.
To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of BMMSCs in aged rhesus monkeys, histological texture features were analyzed using F-FDG-PET/CT imaging. The study involved three groups: five juvenile rhesus monkeys (mean age 2 years, weight 4.6 ± 0.49 kg), five young adult rhesus monkeys (mean age 6.2 ± 0.40 years, weight 3.6 ± 0.80 kg), and six aged rhesus monkeys (mean age 23.3 ± 1.37 years, weight 7.0 ± 2.77 kg). The aged group underwent F -FDG-PET/CT imaging at baseline, and again at 3 and 6 months following BMMSC administration. Image texture features were segmented, extracted, and analyzed using LIFEx software, with a total of 93 high-throughput PET texture features evaluated across the adolescent, young adult, and aged groups, as well as at the 3- and 6-month post-treatment time points.Significant differences (P < 0.05) in 82 texture features were observed in multiple organs, including the brain, bilateral retroocular fat, thyroid, thymus, lung, aorta, gastric sinusoids, liver, kidneys, and L4 vertebrae, across the three age groups. Comparison between the younger and older groups revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) in 31 texture features within the brain, bilateral retroocular fat, thyroid, lung, gastric sinus, left kidney, and L4 vertebrae.ROC curve analysis of the PET texture features from the thyroid, lung, gastric sinus, left kidney, and L4 vertebrae showed AUC values greater than 0.7, indicating good diagnostic performance. In aged rhesus monkeys treated with BMMSCs, PET texture features in the brain, bilateral retroocular fat, left lung, gastric sinus, and L4 vertebrae recovered to levels comparable to those of the young group at both the 3- and 6-month post-treatment time points. Additionally, histological examination via HE staining of the lung, liver, kidney, stomach, and thymus in the aged group at 6 months post-treatment revealed significant improvements in the structural integrity of these organs.These findings suggest that F -FDG PET texture analysis is a valuable tool for assessing the restoration of physiological function in aged rhesus monkeys following BMMSC treatment.
为了评估骨髓间充质干细胞（BMMSCs）对老年恒河猴的治疗效果，采用F-FDG-PET/CT成像分析组织纹理特征。该研究包括三组：五只幼年恒河猴（平均年龄2岁，体重4.6±0.49千克）、五只青年成年恒河猴（平均年龄6.2±0.40岁，体重3.6±0.80千克）和六只老年恒河猴（平均年龄23.3±1.37岁，体重7.0±2.77千克）。老年组在基线时以及BMMSC给药后3个月和6个月时接受F-FDG-PET/CT成像。使用LIFEx软件对图像纹理特征进行分割、提取和分析，共评估了青少年、青年成年和老年组以及治疗后3个月和6个月时间点的93个高通量PET纹理特征。在包括脑、双侧眼后脂肪、甲状腺、胸腺、肺、主动脉、胃窦、肝脏、肾脏和L4椎体在内的多个器官中，观察到三个年龄组之间82个纹理特征存在显著差异（P<0.05）。较年轻组和较年长组之间的比较显示，脑、双侧眼后脂肪、甲状腺、肺、胃窦、左肾和L4椎体中的31个纹理特征存在显著差异（P<0.05）。对甲状腺、肺、胃窦、左肾和L4椎体的PET纹理特征进行ROC曲线分析，显示AUC值大于0.7，表明诊断性能良好。在接受BMMSCs治疗的老年恒河猴中，脑、双侧眼后脂肪、左肺、胃窦和L4椎体的PET纹理特征在治疗后3个月和6个月时恢复到与青年组相当的水平。此外，治疗后6个月对老年组的肺、肝脏、肾脏、胃和胸腺进行HE染色组织学检查，发现这些器官的结构完整性有显著改善。这些发现表明，F-FDG PET纹理分析是评估老年恒河猴接受BMMSC治疗后生理功能恢复的有价值工具。
