title: Quantifying initial cellular events of mouse radiation lymphomagenesis and its tumor prevention in vivo by positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.
abstract: Radiation-induced thymic lymphoma (RITL) in mice is induced by fractionated whole-body X-irradiation (FX) and has served as a useful model for studying radiation carcinogenesis. In this model, the initial postirradiation cellular events in the thymus and bone marrow (BM) are critically important for tumorigenesis, and BM transplantation (BMT) prevents RITL. However, direct assessment of these events is so far restricted by the lack of noninvasive monitoring techniques. Here, we have developed positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods to quantify the events critical for RITL development and the effects of BMT in living animals. Apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) were calculated from diffusion-weighted MRI to evaluate the changes in the BM of mice receiving FX. ADC values dramatically changed in the irradiated BM, corresponding to pathological findings of the irradiated BM, returning to normal levels following BMT sooner than with spontaneous recovery. PET with 4'-[methyl-(11)C]thiothymidine, a novel tracer for cell proliferation, revealed that the irradiated thymus showed significantly higher tracer uptake than the unirradiated thymus 1 week after FX. Interestingly, its increased uptake was completely abolished by BMT, even with very few donor-derived cells in the thymus. Thereafter, the thymus receiving BMT had significantly increased tracer uptake. These findings suggest that BMT first suppresses FX-induced aberrant thymocyte proliferation and then accelerates thymic regeneration. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using PET and MRI for noninvasive monitoring of tumorigenic cellular processes in an animal model of radiation-induced cancer.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan. Electronic address: shase@nirs.go.jp.
authors.forename: Sumitaka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morokoshi
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Animal and Genome Sciences Section, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kokubo
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Ichio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Ming-Rong
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine / Q000378:metabolism; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000528:radiation effects; D004058:Diffusion; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013936:Thymidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; C084401:2'-deoxy-4'-methyl-4'-thiothymidine; D001973:Bromodeoxyuridine; D013936:Thymidine
keywords: Bone marrow; MRI; PET; Radiation carcinogenesis; Thymus