Molecular imaging of neuroinflammation in preclinical rodent models using positron emission tomography
- 1 January 2017
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Edizioni Minerva Medica in The Quarterly Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
- Vol. 61 (1), 60-75
- https://doi.org/10.23736/S1824-4785.16.02948-4
Abstract
Neuroinflammation (NI) is an adaptive response to different noxious stimuli, involving microglia, astrocytes and peripheral immune cells. NI is a hallmark of several acute and chronic diseases of central nervous system (CNS) and contributes to both damage and repair of CNS tissue. Interventional or genetically modified rodent models mimicking human neuropathologies may provide valuable insights on basic mechanisms of NI, but also for improving the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Preclinical positron emission tomography (PET) allows to investigate noninvasively the inflammatory response in CNS of rodent models at a molecular level, validating innovative probes for early diagnosis, and characterizing the time course of neuroinflammatory changes and their relationship with disease progression, as well as the effects of experimental treatments with high translational potential. In particular, recent efforts of preclinical PET field are intended to develop specific and selective radiotracers that target the activation of innate immune system in CNS. Here, we have reviewed the state of art for PET in relevant rodent models of acute and chronic neuropathologies associated with NI, with particular regard on imaging of activated microglia and astrocytes.Keywords
This publication has 86 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effects of Translocator Protein (18 kDa) Ligands on Microglial Activation and Neuronal Death in the Quinolinic-Acid-Injected Rat StriatumACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2012
- An 18-kDa Translocator Protein (TSPO) Polymorphism Explains Differences in Binding Affinity of the PET Radioligand PBR28Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 2011
- Synthesis and biodistribution of [11C]A-836339, a new potential radioligand for PET imaging of cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2)Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2010
- Macrophages in Alzheimer’s disease: the blood-borne identityJournal of Neural Transmission, 2010
- Mechanisms Underlying Inflammation in NeurodegenerationCell, 2010
- Of mice, rats and men: Revisiting the quinolinic acid hypothesis of Huntington's diseaseProgress in Neurobiology, 2010
- Evaluation of the PBR/TSPO Radioligand [18F]DPA-714 in a Rat Model of Focal Cerebral IschemiaJournal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, 2009
- PK11195 labels activated microglia in Alzheimer's disease and in vivo in a mouse model using PETNeurobiology of Aging, 2009
- The distinct roles of cyclooxygenase-1 and -2 in neuroinflammation: implications for translational researchTrends in Pharmacological Sciences, 2009
- Positron emission tomography with computed tomography imaging of neuroinflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitisProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007