Antimicrobial peptide for bacterial infection imaging: first case reported in Brazil.

Molecular imaging markers can be used to differentiate between infection and aseptic inflammation, determine the severity of infection, and monitor treatment responses. One of these markers is ubiquicidin(29-41) (UBI), a cationic peptide fragment that binds to the bacterial membrane wall and is labeled with gallium-68 (68Ga), a positron emitter radioisotope. The use of UBI in positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for improved detection of lesions has been receiving considerable attention recently. Herein, we report the first case of 68Ga-UBI PET/CT performed in Brazil. The patient was a 39-year-old woman referred for a scan to confirm a clinical suspicion of chronic osteomyelitis of her fractured left tibia. PET images revealed radiotracer uptake near the posterior contour of the tibial fracture focus and the fixation plate, in the soft tissue around the distal half of the tibia, and in the non-consolidated fracture of the left distal fibula. Surgery for local cleaning was performed, and culture of a specimen collected from the surgical site confirmed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus. In the present case, 68Ga-UBI PET/CT, a non-invasive imaging modality, identified the infection foci in vivo, indicating its potential for clinical use.

Antimicrobial peptide for bacterial infection imaging: first case reported in Brazil

ABSTRACT Molecular imaging markers can be used to differentiate between infection and aseptic inflammation, determine the severity of infection, and monitor treatment responses. One of these markers is ubiquicidin(29-41) (UBI), a cationic peptide fragment that binds to the bacterial membrane wall and is labeled with gallium-68 (68Ga), a positron emitter radioisotope. The use of UBI in positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for improved detection of lesions has been receiving considerable attention recently. Herein, we report the first case of 68Ga-UBI PET/CT performed in Brazil. The patient was a 39-year-old woman referred for a scan to confirm a clinical suspicion of chronic osteomyelitis of her fractured left tibia. PET images revealed radiotracer uptake near the posterior contour of the tibial fracture focus and the fixation plate, in the soft tissue around the distal half of the tibia, and in the non-consolidated fracture of the left distal fibula. Surgery for local cleaning was performed, and culture of a specimen collected from the surgical site confirmed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus. In the present case, 68Ga-UBI PET/CT, a non-invasive imaging modality, identified the infection foci in vivo, indicating its potential for clinical use.

Prolonged dipyridamole administration reduces myocardial perfusion defects in experimental chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial perfusion defects (MPD) due to coronary microvascular dysfunction is frequent in chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) and may be involved with development of myocardial damage. We investigated whether MPD precedes left ventricular systolic dysfunction and tested the hypothesis that prolonged use of dipyridamole (DIPY) could reduce MPD in an experimental model of CCC in hamsters. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated female hamsters 6-months after T. cruzi infection (baseline condition) and control animals, divided into T. cruzi-infected animals treated with DIPY (CH + DIPY) or placebo (CH + PLB); and uninfected animals treated with DIPY (CO + DIPY) or placebo (CO + PLB). The animals were submitted to echocardiogram and rest SPECT-Sestamibi-Tc99m myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Next, the animals were treated with DIPY (4 mg/kg bid, intraperitoneal) or saline for 30 days, and reevaluated with the same imaging methods. At baseline, the CH + PLB and CH + DIPY groups showed larger areas of perfusion defect (13.2 ± 13.2% and 17.3 ± 13.2%, respectively) compared with CO + PLB and CO + DIPY (3.8 ± 2.2% e 3.5 ± 2.7%, respectively), P < .05. After treatment, we observed: reduction of perfusion defects only in the CH + DIPY group (17.3 ± 13.2% to 6.8 ± 7.6%, P = .001) and reduction of LVEF in CH + DIPY and CH + PLB groups (from 65.3 ± 9.0% to 53.6 ± 6.9% and from 69.3 ± 5.0% to 54.4 ± 8.6%, respectively, P < .001). Quantitative histology revealed greater extents of inflammation and interstitial fibrosis in both Chagas groups, compared with control group (P < .001), but no difference between Chagas groups (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The prolonged use of DIPY in this experimental model of CCC has reduced the rest myocardial perfusion defects, supporting the notion that those areas correspond to viable hypoperfused myocardium.

Histopathological Correlates of Global and Segmental Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Experimental Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy in humans is characterized by segmental left ventricular wall motion abnormalities (WMA), mainly in the early stages of disease. This study aimed at investigating the detection of WMA and its correlation with the underlying histopathological changes in a chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy model in hamsters. METHODS AND RESULTS: Female Syrian hamsters (n=34) infected with 3.5×10(4) or 10(5) blood trypomastigote Trypanosoma cruzi (Y strain) forms and an uninfected control group (n=7) were investigated. After 6 or 10 months after the infection, the animals were submitted to in vivo evaluation of global and segmental left ventricular systolic function by echocardiography, followed by euthanasia and histological analysis for quantitative assessment of fibrosis and inflammation with tissue sampling in locations coinciding with the left ventricular wall segmentation employed at the in vivo echocardiographic evaluation. Ten of the 34 infected animals (29%) showed reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (<73%). Left ventricular ejection fraction was more negatively correlated with the intensity of inflammation (r=-0.63; P<0.0001) than with the extent of fibrosis (r=-0.36; P=0.036). Among the 24 animals with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (82.9±5.5%), 8 (33%) showed segmental WMA predominating in the apical, inferior, and posterolateral segments. The segments exhibiting WMA, in comparison to those with normal wall motion, showed a greater extent of fibrosis (9.3±5.7% and 7±6.3%, P<0.0001) and an even greater intensity of inflammation (218.0±111.6 and 124.5±84.8 nuclei/mm², P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Isolated WMA with preserved global systolic left ventricular function is frequently found in Syrian hamsters with experimental chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy whose underlying histopathological features are mainly inflammatory.