title: In vivo quantification of mouse autoimmune arthritis by PET/CT.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify the progression and severity of mouse collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) using an in vivo imaging tool, (18) F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18) F-FDG) PET/CT and validate it against gold standard 'histopathological' evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  The PET radiotracer (18) F-FDG, a marker for glucose metabolism, was injected in mice at different stages of CIA and the radiotracer distribution was imaged using a PET scanner. A sequential CT scan provided correlated anatomy. Radiotracer concentration was derived from PET/CT images for individual limb joints and on a per-limb basis at different stages of the disease. The imaging outcomes were subjected to correlation analysis with concurrently measured clinical and histological score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Clinical and histological score, and hence disease severity, showed a strong linear correlation (r(2)  = 0.71, P = 0.001 and r(2)  = 0.87, P < 0.001, respectively) with radiotracer concentration measured from PET/CT during the progression of CIA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The strong positive correlation of the (18) F-FDG PET/CT findings with the histopathological evaluation at different stages of the disease suggest the potential of this imaging tool for the non-invasive assessment of progression and severity in mouse autoimmune arthritis. Thus, in preclinical studies, (18) F-FDG PET/CT can be considered as a non-invasive tool to develop novel therapies of inflammatory arthritis.
authors: Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.|VA Northern California Health Care System, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors: Smriti
authors: S
authors: Kundu-Raychaudhuri
authors: VA Northern California Health Care System, Sacramento, California, USA.|Division of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors: Anupam
authors: A
authors: Mitra
authors: Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.|VA Northern California Health Care System, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors: Ananya
authors: A
authors: Datta-Mitra
authors: Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors: Abhijit J
authors: AJ
authors: Chaudhari
authors: Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.|VA Northern California Health Care System, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors: Siba P
authors: SP
authors: Raychaudhuri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D015551:Autoimmunity; D003094:Collagen; D018450:Disease Progression; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007596:Joints / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D000072078:Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D003094:Collagen
keywords: PET/CT; in vivo imaging; inflammation; mouse CIA; quantification