Positron emission tomography/computed tomographic and magnetic resonance imaging in a murine model of progressive atherosclerosis using (64)Cu-labeled glycoprotein VI-Fc

Plaque erosion leads to exposure of subendothelial collagen, which may be targeted by glycoprotein VI (GPVI). We aimed to detect plaque erosion using (64)Cu-labeled GPVI-Fc (fragment crystallized). Four-week-old male apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice (n=6) were fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks. C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) mice served as controls (n=6). Another group of WT mice received a ligation injury of the left carotid artery (n=6) or sham procedure (n=4). All mice received a total activity of ≈12 MBq (64)Cu-GPVI-Fc by tail vein injection followed by delayed (24 hours) positron emission tomography using a NanoPET/computed tomographic scanner (Mediso, Hungary; Bioscan, USA) with an acquisition time of 1800 seconds. Seventy-two hours after positron emission tomography/computed tomography, all mice were scanned 2 hours after intravenous administration of 0.2 mmol/kg body weight of a gadolinium-based elastin-specific MR contrast agent. MRI was performed on a 3-T clinical scanner (Philips Healthcare, Best, The Netherlands). In ApoE(-/-) mice, the (64)Cu-GPVI-Fc uptake in the aortic arch was significantly higher compared with WT mice (ApoE(-/-): 13.2±1.5 Bq/cm(3) versus WT mice: 5.1±0.5 Bq/cm(3); P=0.028). (64)Cu-GPVI-Fc uptake was also higher in the injured left carotid artery wall compared with the intact right carotid artery of WT mice and as a trend compared with sham procedure (injured: 20.7±1.3 Bq/cm(3) versus intact: 2.3±0.5 Bq/cm(3); P=0.028 versus sham: 12.7±1.7 Bq/cm(3); P=0.068). Results were confirmed by ex vivo histology and in vivo MRI with elastin-specific MR contrast agent that measures plaque burden and vessel wall remodeling. Higher R1 relaxation rates were found in the injured carotid wall with a T1 mapping sequence (injured: 1.44±0.08 s(-1) versus intact: 0.91±0.02 s(-1); P=0.028 versus sham: 0.97±0.05 s(-1); P=0.068) and in the aortic arch of ApoE(-/-) mice compared with WT mice (ApoE(-/-): 1.49±0.05 s(-1) versus WT: 0.92±0.04 s(-1); P=0.028). (64)Cu-GPVI-Fc positron emission tomographic imaging allows identification of exposed subendothelial collagen in injured WT and high-fat diet-fed ApoE(-/-) mice.