Profile of pathology in rabbit unstable plaque with ~(18)F-FDG PET/CT detection / 基础医学与临床

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the feasibility of noninvasive detection of unstable plaques with ~(18)F-Fluorodeoxyglu-cose (~(18)F-FDG) PET/CT imaging. Methods Atherosclerotic plaques were induced in male New Zealand white rabbits. Animals were injected with FDG labeled with ~(18)F, then examined with PET/CT. Aorta was explanted for photography with digital camera, and ~(18)F-FDG uptake analysis. Thirty unstable plaques and 30 stable plaques were choosed so as to compare the quantitativly ~(18)F-FDG uptake. The number of macrophages and smooth muscle cells was detected by immunohistochemical technique. Results Experimental group showed inconsistent uptake of ~(18)F-FDG in the abdominal aorta. The results were confirmed in the ex vivo digital photo of the explanted aorta. The target to non target ratio (T/NT) and macrophages of unstable plaques were higher than stable plaques (P<0.01) , but smooth muscle cells obviously reduced (P <0. 01). Correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between T/NT and macrophage content (r=0. 815,P<0. 01), and a negative correlation between T/NT and SMC content(r=-0. 684,P <0. 01). Conclusion ~(18)F-FDG PET/CT can constitute an attractive imaging method for the noninvasive detection of experimental unstable plaques.