Comparison of a New ⁶⁸Ga-Radiolabelled PET Imaging Agent sCD146 and RGD Peptide for In Vivo Evaluation of Angiogenesis in Mouse Model of Myocardial Infarction

• Main Authors: Anaïs Moyon, Philippe Garrigue, Samantha Fernandez, Fabien Hubert, Laure Balasse, Pauline Brige, Guillaume Hache, Vincent Nail, Marcel Blot-Chabaud, Françoise Dignat-George, Francesca Rochais, Benjamin Guillet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Cells
• Subjects: angiomotin; myocardial infarction; sCD146; gallium; angiogenesis
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/10/9/2305

Ischemic vascular diseases are associated with elevated tissue expression of angiomotin (AMOT), a promising molecular target for PET imaging. On that basis, we developed an AMOT-targeting radiotracer, ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 and performed the first in vivo evaluation on a myocardial infarction mice model and then, compared AMOT expression and α_vβ₃-integrin expression with ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 and ⁶⁸Ga-RGD₂ imaging. After myocardial infarction (MI) induced by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery, myocardial perfusion was evaluated by Doppler ultrasound and by ¹⁸F-FDG PET imaging. ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 and ⁶⁸Ga-RGD₂ PET imaging were performed. In myocardial infarction model, heart-to-muscle ratio of ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 imaging showed a significantly higher radiotracer uptake in the infarcted area of MI animals than in sham (* <i>p</i> = 0.04). Interestingly, we also observed significant correlations between ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 imaging and delayed residual perfusion assessed by ¹⁸F-FDG (* <i>p</i> = 0.04), with lowest tissue fibrosis assessed by histological staining (* <i>p</i> = 0.04) and with functional recovery assessed by ultrasound imaging (** <i>p</i> = 0.01). ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 demonstrated an increase in AMOT expression after MI. Altogether, significant correlations of early post-ischemic ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 uptake with late heart perfusion, lower tissue fibrosis and better functional recovery, make ⁶⁸Ga-sCD146 a promising radiotracer for tissue angiogenesis assessment after MI.