Vinod Kaimal1, Tracey Monterosso1, Michael Woolliscroft1, Joseph Cornicelli1, Robbie B. Mailliard2, Eric T. Ahrens3, Aaron D. Nelson3, Cameron Barnard4, James Mobley5, Patrick McConville1
1MIR Preclinical Services, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; 2Celsense, Inc, Pittsburgh, PA; 3Celsense, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA, USA; 4m2m Imaging Corp., Cleveland, OH, USA; 5Lycera, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
An inflammatory response was induced in mice using PVA sponges that were soaked in either complete Freunds adjuvant (CFA) or PBS (control) and implanted subcutaneously in the dorsal surface of Balb/C mice. A perfluorocarbon nanoparticle emulsion, injected intravenously, was used to detect the inflammatory response, using 19F-MRI . The types of cells involved in this response were identified using Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting. Results suggest that the 19F based nanoemulsion is a specific in vivo biomarker for an activated macrophage subtype involved in the inflammatory response and can potentially be used to quantify macrophage activity.