A Metabolic Intravascular Platform to Study FDG Uptake in Vascular Injury

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Molecular Imaging
• Metabolic Research

Background:

• Metabolic alterations are key in many diseases, necessitating advanced in vivo assessment methods.
• Current molecular imaging allows in vivo metabolic studies but often requires proximity to target organs, like in vascular metabolism research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a sensitive metabolic detection platform for in vivo studies of vascular metabolism.
• To assess the platform's ability to detect inflammation by monitoring macrophage activity.

Main Methods:

• A scintillating fiber sensor coupled with a photomultiplier tube and tunable analysis platform was developed.
• In vivo validation used New Zealand rabbits with induced inflammation (high cholesterol diet or endothelial denudation).
• Experiments focused on macrophage metabolic activity, utilizing 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake.

Main Results:

• The metabolic sensor detected vascular inflammation (0.60 ± 0.03 AU vs. control 0.48 ± 0.03 AU, p=0.01).
• The sensor demonstrated higher sensitivity than intravascular ultrasound in detecting inflammation.
• Ex vivo tissue staining confirmed the presence of macrophages in inflamed areas.

Conclusions:

• A tunable, highly sensitive metabolic sensor platform for in vivo vascular metabolism detection, including inflammation, was successfully validated.
• The sensor can detect macrophage activity and, with alternative probes, other pathophysiological processes.
• This technology advances metabolic research and brings in vivo diagnostics closer to patient application.