Usefulness of 11C-choline positron emission tomography for genital chlamydial infection assessment in a BALB/c murine model.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of 11C-Choline PET in the assessment of the degree of inflammation in the Chlamydia muridarum genital infection model.


METHODS
Forty female Balb/c mice received 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate i.m. 9 and 2 days prior to the infection: 21 mice were infected by C. muridarum into the vaginal vault, 12 mice were treated with inactivated chlamydiae, and 7 mice were SPG buffer-treated as negative controls. Three healthy control mice were not treated with progesterone. Mice in each category were randomly subdivided in two groups: (1) sacrificed at 5, 10, 15, and 20 days for histological analysis and (2) undergoing 11C-Choline PET at days 5, 10, and 20 post-infection (20 MBq of 11C-Choline, uptake time of 10 min, acquisition through a small-animal PET tomograph for 15 min).


RESULTS
Infected animals showed a significantly higher standardized uptake value than both controls and animals inoculated with heat-inactivated chlamydiae in each PET scan (P<0.05). All organs of the infected animals had scores of inflammation ranging between 2 and 3 at day 5, decreasing to 1-2 at day 20.


CONCLUSIONS
This preliminary result demonstrated that 11C-Choline PET can highlight a specific proliferation mechanism of inflammatory cells induced by C. muridarum, thanks to a very high sensitivity in detecting very small amounts of tracer in inflammatory cells.
Microbiology, DIMES Department, S. Orsola Hospital, University of Bologna, Via Massarenti, 9, 40138, Bologna, Italy. antonella.marangoni@unibo.it
Antonella
A
Marangoni
Cristina
C
Nanni
Carmelo
C
Quarta
Claudio
C
Foschi
Incoronata
I
Russo
Paola
P
Nardini
Antonietta
A
D'Errico
Francesca
F
Rosini
Alice
A
Ferretti
Rita
R
Aldini
Roberto
R
Cevenini
Domenico
D
Rubello
D000818:Animals; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology*; D023502:Chlamydia muridarum / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D002794:Choline / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010057:Oviducts / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D060737:Reproductive Tract Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014599:Uterus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D002794:Choline