title: Comparison of Somatostatin Receptor 2-Targeting PET Tracers in the Detection of Mouse Atherosclerotic Plaques.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rupture-prone atherosclerotic plaques are characterized by accumulation of macrophages, which have shown to express somatostatin type 2 receptors. We aimed to investigate whether somatostatin receptor-targeting positron emission tomography (PET) tracers, [(68)Ga]DOTANOC, [(18)F]FDR-NOC, and [(68)Ga]DOTATATE, can detect inflamed atherosclerotic plaques.
  
  
  METHODS
  Atherosclerotic IGF-II/LDLR(-/-)ApoB(100/100) mice were studied in vivo and ex vivo for tracer uptake into atherosclerotic plaques. Furthermore, [(68)Ga]DOTANOC and [(68)Ga]DOTATATE were compared in a head-to-head setting for in vivo PET/X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ex vivo uptake of [(68)Ga]DOTANOC and [(68)Ga]DOTATATE in the aorta was higher in atherosclerotic mice compared to control C57Bl/6N mice, while the aortic uptake of [(18)F]FDR-NOC showed no genotype difference. Unlike [(18)F]FDR-NOC, [(68)Ga]DOTANOC and [(68)Ga]DOTATATE showed preferential binding to atherosclerotic plaques with plaque-to-wall ratio of 1.7 ± 0.3 and 2.1 ± 0.5, respectively. However, the aortic uptake and aorta-to-blood ratio of [(68)Ga]DOTANOC were higher compared to [(68)Ga]DOTATATE in in vivo PET/CT imaging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate superior applicability for [(68)Ga]DOTANOC and [(68)Ga]DOTATATE in the detection of atherosclerotic plaques compared to [(18)F]FDR-NOC.
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Petteri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rinne
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hellberg
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiugel
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Jenni
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Virta
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Xiang-Guo
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Meeri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Käkelä
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Radiochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kerttuli
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Helariutta
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Pauliina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Luoto
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.|Turku Center for Disease Modeling, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liljenbäck
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Harri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hakovirta
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gardberg
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Radiochemistry, Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Anu J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Airaksinen
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Juhani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Knuuti
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland.|Heart Center, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saraste
authors.affiliation: Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, FI-20520, Turku, Finland. anne.roivainen@utu.fi.|Turku Center for Disease Modeling, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. anne.roivainen@utu.fi.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roivainen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001055:Apolipoproteins B / Q000378:metabolism; D001345:Autoradiography; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D015282:Octreotide / Q000378:metabolism; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000378:metabolism*; D011973:Receptors, LDL / Q000378:metabolism; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: C504894:68Ga-DOTANOC; D001055:Apolipoproteins B; D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D011973:Receptors, LDL; D017481:Receptors, Somatostatin; D007335:Insulin-Like Growth Factor II; C513399:gallium Ga 68 dotatate; C093733:somatostatin receptor 2; D015282:Octreotide
keywords: Atherosclerosis; Autoradiography; Biodistribution; Positron emission tomography; Somatostatin receptor