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Updated: Dec 17, 2025
Non-invasive Imaging of Leukocyte Homing and Migration in vivo
Published on: December 5, 2010
Rodent Leukocyte Isolation and Radiolabeling for Inflammation Imaging Study
Eun-Mi Kim1, Phil-Sun Oh1, Fatima Boud1
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Imaging & Therapeutic Medicine Research Center, Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University and Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Jeonbuk Republic of Korea.
Purpose:
The objective of this study was to describe to develop methods of rodent leukocyte isolation and radiolabeling for in vivo inflammation imaging.
Methods:
Thigh muscle inflammation was induced by injection of collagenase. Blood was collected from the jugular vein and separated by Histopaque. The collected cells were incubated in a 37 °C CO2 incubator for 1~2 h. After incubation, 99mTc-HMPAO and 18F-FDG were used to treat leukocytes followed by incubation for 30 min. 99mTc-HMPAO and 18F-FDG labeled autologous leukocytes were injected into the tail veins of rats. The images were then acquired at various time points. Image-based lesion to normal muscle ratio was compared.
Results:
After Histopaque separation, the proportion of lymphocytes was higher than that of other cell types. After CO2 incubation, the collected leukocytes were viable, while room temperature exposed leukocytes without CO2 incubation were non-viable. Granulocytes, especially, were more quickly influenced by various conditions than the mononuclear cells. Labeling efficiencies of 99mTc-HMPAO and 18F-FDG were 4.00 ± 2.06 and 1.8%, respectively. 99mTc-HMPAO- and 18F-FDG-labeled leukocytes targeted well the inflamed lesion. 99mTc-HMPAO-labeled leukocytes, but not 18F-FDG-labeled leukocytes, were found in the abdomen activity.
Conclusion:
Inflamed lesions of rats were well visualized using autologous radiolabeled leukocytes. This method might provide good information for understanding inflammatory diseases.
