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An autoradiographic study of [(18)F]FDG uptake to islets of Langerhans in NOD mouse
Teemu Kalliokoski1, Olli Simell, Merja Haaparanta
1DIPP-project, Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. teemu.kalliokoski@utu.fi
To evaluate the potential of in vivo imaging of accumulation of lymphocytes to islets of Langerhans (insulitis), we compared 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([(18)F]FDG) uptake in the pancreas and pancreatic islets of healthy BALB/c mice, phenotypically healthy NOD mice with insulitis and diabetic NOD mice. [(18)F]FDG was injected i.v. to 14 female BALB/c mice (age 13+/-3 weeks, plasma glucose 8+/-2 mmol/l) and 21 age-matched female NOD mice (plasma glucose 8+/-4 mmol/l, p=0.06). The mice were killed 90-min post injection and distribution of radioactivity was analysed using digital autoradiography. There was no correlation of plasma glucose concentration with the [(18)F]FDG uptake values. Uptake of radioactivity in NOD mice to the islets affected by insulitis was up to 2.3 times higher (p=0.001) than that to unaffected islets in the same pancreas. Uptake to NOD islets with insulitis was also clearly enhanced (1.0-2.3 times higher) compared to the islets in the BALB/c mice. In conclusion, NOD mouse islets with insulitis accumulate [(18)F]FDG markedly more than islets without insulitis or BALB/c islets. However, the relatively small difference in the [(18)F]FDG intensity between healthy and diseased islets, combined with the limited resolution ability of the positron emission tomography (PET), probably prevent the use of [(18)F]FDG in PET studies aiming at in vivo documentation of onset and progression of insulitis and prediabetes in mouse and man.
To evaluate the potential of in vivo imaging of accumulation of lymphocytes to islets of Langerhans (insulitis), we compared 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose ([(18)F]FDG) uptake in the pancreas and pancreatic islets of healthy BALB/c mice, phenotypically healthy NOD mice with insulitis and diabetic NOD mice. [(18)F]FDG was injected i.v. to 14 female BALB/c mice (age 13+/-3 weeks, plasma glucose 8+/-2 mmol/l) and 21 age-matched female NOD mice (plasma glucose 8+/-4 mmol/l, p=0.06). The mice were killed 90-min post injection and distribution of radioactivity was analysed using digital autoradiography. There was no correlation of plasma glucose concentration with the [(18)F]FDG uptake values. Uptake of radioactivity in NOD mice to the islets affected by insulitis was up to 2.3 times higher (p=0.001) than that to unaffected islets in the same pancreas. Uptake to NOD islets with insulitis was also clearly enhanced (1.0-2.3 times higher) compared to the islets in the BALB/c mice. In conclusion, NOD mouse islets with insulitis accumulate [(18)F]FDG markedly more than islets without insulitis or BALB/c islets. However, the relatively small difference in the [(18)F]FDG intensity between healthy and diseased islets, combined with the limited resolution ability of the positron emission tomography (PET), probably prevent the use of [(18)F]FDG in PET studies aiming at in vivo documentation of onset and progression of insulitis and prediabetes in mouse and man.
