Imaging CD19+ B Cells in an Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Mouse Model using Positron Emission Tomography

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common demyelinating central nervous system (CNS) disease affecting young adults, often resulting in neurological deficits and disability as the disease progresses. B lymphocytes play a complex and critical role in MS pathology and are the target of several therapeutics in clinical trials. Currently, there is no way to accurately select patients for specific anti-B cell therapies or to non-invasively quantify the effects of these treatments on B cell load in the CNS and peripheral organs. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has enormous potential to provide highly specific, quantitative information regarding the in vivo spatiotemporal distribution and burden of B cells in living subjects. This paper reports methods to synthesize and employ a PET tracer specific for human CD19 B cells in a well-established B cell-driven mouse model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), which is induced with human recombinant myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 1-125. Described here are optimized techniques to detect and quantify CD19 B cells in the brain and spinal cord using in vivo PET imaging. Additionally, this paper reports streamlined methods for ex vivo gamma counting of disease-relevant organs, including bone marrow, spinal cord, and spleen, together with high-resolution autoradiography of CD19 tracer binding in CNS tissues.