Small animal PET for the evaluation of an animal model of genital infection
Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. 2009-05-01; 29(3): 187-192
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-097X.2008.00854.x
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Nanni C(1), Marangoni A, Quarta C, Di Pierro D, Rizzello A, Trespidi S,
D’Ambrosio D, Ambrosini V, Donati M, Aldini R, Zanotti-Fregonara P, Grassetto G,
Rubello D, Fanti S, Cevenini R.
Author information:
(1)Department of Nuclear Medicine, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna,
Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy.
BACKGROUND: [(18)F]-FDG is a widely used tracer for the non-invasive evaluation
of hypermetabolic processes like cancer and inflammation. However, [(18)F]-FDG is
considered inaccurate for the diagnosis of urinary tract and genital infections
because of its urinary excretion. Since the 1970s, Gallium scintigraphy is a well
established test that has been used for the evaluation of inflammation and
infection in human patients.
AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of (68)Ga-Chloride small
animal PET for the analysis of an animal model of genital infection, induced
after the vaginal inoculum of Chlamydia muridarum. Material and Thirty mice were
infected by placing 15 microl sucrose phosphate glutamic acid (SPG) 10(7)
inclusion forming units of C. muridarum into the vaginal vault. As controls of
inflammation, three animals were challenged with 15 microl of SPG and one healthy
animal was used to assess the tracer biodistribution. Four animals died during
the experiment. Eleven animals were evaluated with (68)Ga-Chloride small animal
PET (GE, eXplore Vista) 3-5, 10-12, 17-19 days after infection, as well as three
controls of inflammation and one healthy animal. Infection was monitored by
obtaining cervical-vaginal swabs from all the animals on the day of each PET
procedure. Moreover, five groups of three animals each were killed at 6, 13, 20,
27 and 34 days after infection were studied.
RESULTS: (68)Ga-PET turned out positive in all the infected animals, concordantly
to data obtained by the cervical swabs and by the ex vivo analysis. The
tumour-to-background ratio (TBR) decreased over time as the inflammation tended
to naturally extinguish. The controls showed a slightly increased uptake of
tracer due to the aseptic inflammation caused by SPG and frequent cervical swabs.
The healthy control did not show any pelvic uptake.
CONCLUSION: (68)Ga-Chloride is a promising tracer for the assessment of genital
infection in a mouse animal model.