OBJECTIVE:

We hypothesized that the general inflammation observed in the wall of large, asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) could be detected in vivo by 18-fluorodeoxglucose (FDG) positron-emission tomography (PET) and, if so, that this method could be used to study if active inflammation is an early pathogenetic finding in small AAAs detected by screening.

METHODS:

In this prospective clinical study, 12 men were examined with FDG-PET computed tomography. Seven had large asymptomatic AAAs (range, 52-66 mm) that required surgery, and five had small AAAs (range, 34-40 mm) under surveillance. In the surgery group, biopsy specimens were taken from the aneurysm wall for histologic examinations.

RESULTS:

Compared with normal segments of the aorta, liver, and blood and compared with healthy controls matched for age and sex, no increased FDG uptake, measured as standardized uptake value, was detected in any of the large or small AAAs. The SUV_mean difference between infrarenal aorta and blood was -0.3 for cases and -0.1 for controls (P = .06). The corresponding differences between the infrarenal aorta and liver was -0.8 and -0.8 (P = .91) and between infrarenal aorta and suprarenal aorta was -0.2 and -0.1 for cases and controls, respectively (P = .20). The histologic examination of the aneurysm walls showed high inflammatory cell infiltration with T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and macrophages.

CONCLUSIONS:

The chronic inflammation observed in the wall of asymptomatic AAAs was not sufficiently metabolically active to result in an increased glucose metabolism detectable by FDG-PET by means of this standard protocol. To study the importance of inflammation in the pathogenesis of AAAs in vivo, PET tracers other than FDG need to be developed.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the relevance of inflammation in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in vivo with two novel positron emission tomography (PET) tracers: [¹¹C]-PK11195 which targets the translocator protein (18 kDa) expressed on macrophages and [¹¹C]-d-deprenyl with a yet unknown target receptor expressed in chronic inflammation.

Design

Prospective clinical study.

Materials/methods

Five patients were examined with [¹¹C]-PK11195-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and 10 with [¹¹C]-d-deprenyl-PET/CT. Nine large AAAs (54–66 mm) scheduled for repair and six small AAA (35–44 mm). All 15 patients were male and the AAAs were all asymptomatic. Regional activity was measured as standardised uptake values (SUVs) and retention index was calculated. Biopsies were taken from the aneurysm wall for histological examinations, in the nine patients operated on.

Results

No aortic uptake was recorded on the visual inspection, neither with [¹¹C]-PK11195 nor with [¹¹C]-d-deprenyl. For [¹¹C]-PK11195 the median SUV of the AAA wall was 0.9 (range 0.8–1.0) and for [¹¹C]-d-deprenyl, 0.7 (range 0.4–1.2). No increased uptake was seen in the aneurysmal infrarenal aorta compared with the non-aneurysmal suprarenal aorta. Histological examination of the aneurysm wall showed high inflammatory cell infiltration with lymphocytes and macrophages.

Conclusions

The chronic inflammation observed in the vessel wall was not detectable with [¹¹C]-PK11195 and [¹¹C]-d-deprenyl. In order to study the relevance of the inflammation in the pathogenesis of AAA in vivo other PET tracers need to be investigated.

Objective. The aetiology and early pathophysiological mechanisms of aortic aneurysm formation are still unknown and challenging to study in vivo. Positron emission tomography (PET) is a potentially valuable instrument for non-invasive in vivo pathophysiological studies. No specific tracer to identify the pathophysiological process of aneurysmal dilatation is yet available, however. The aim of this study was to explore if different PET tracers could be useful to image aneurysmal disease. Methods and results. Human aneurysmal aortic tissue, collected during elective resection of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) of asymptomatic patients, was investigated in vitro by means of autoradiography with [Ga-68]CRP-binder targeting C-reactive protein, [C-11]DAA1106 targeting translocator protein (18 kDa), [C-11]D-deprenyl with unknown target receptor, [C-11] deuterium-L-deprenyl targeting astrocytes, [F-18]fluciclatide targeting integrin alpha(V)beta(3), [Ga-68]IMP461 and bi-specific antibody TF2 052107 targeting carcinoembryonic antigen, [F-18]F-metomidate targeting mitochondrial cytochrome P-450 species in the adrenal cortex, and [F-18]vorozole targeting aromatase. Of the investigated tracers, only [F-18]fluciclatide exhibited specific binding, whereas the other PET tracers failed to show specific uptake in the investigated tissue and are probably not useful for the intended purpose. Conclusion. It seems likely that alpha(V)beta(3) integrin expression in AAA can be visualized with PET and that the alpha(V)beta(3) selective tracer, [F-18]fluciclatide, may be suitable for in vivo molecular imaging of asymptomatic AAA. Additional evaluation of [F-18]fluciclatide and alpha(V)beta(3) integrin expression in AAA will be performed in vitro as well as in vivo.