Radionuclide Imaging of Experimental Atherosclerosis with Nonspecific Polyclonal Immunoglobulin G

• Published in: The Journal of nuclear medicine (1978) Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 1095 - 1100
• Main Authors: Fischman, Alan J, Rubin, Robert H, Khaw, Ban An, Kramer, Peter B, Wilkinson, Robert, Ahmad, Marsood, Needelman, Mark, Locke, Elizabeth, Nossiff, Nessine D, Strauss, H. William
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Soc Nuclear Med 01-06-1989
• Subjects: Animals; Arteriosclerosis - diagnostic imaging; Autoradiography; Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments; Immunoglobulin G - administration & dosage; Indium Radioisotopes; Male; Rabbits; Radionuclide Imaging
• ISSN: 0161-5505; 1535-5667

The utility of nonspecific polyclonal IgG for external imaging of experimental atherosclerosis was tested in a series of rabbits after balloon catheter deendothelialization of the abdominal aorta. Following injection of 111In-IgG, 111In-Fc, or 111In-Fab serial images were recorded. In addition, several animals received 125I-low density lipoproteins [125I-LDL], or 125I human serum albumin [125I-HSA] as positive and negative controls. Forty-eight hours after injection of the radiolabeled proteins, the aortas were removed, divided into abdominal and thoracic regions, counted, and autoradiographed. The images acquired after injection of 111In-IgG and 111In-Fc, showed clear focal accumulation of radioactivity in the healing abdominal aorta. In contrast, the images obtained after injection of 111In-Fab did not show focal radionuclide accumulation. For 111In-IgG and 111In-Fc there were three to six times as many counts in the abdominal as in the thoracic aorta, while for 111In-Fab and 125I HSA, the abdominal and thoracic counts were nearly equal. The results suggest that radiolabeled IgG and Fc can be used to image experimental atherosclerosis.