Meeting Banner
Abstract #3190

In Vivo 19F MRI for Sensitive Assessment of Arthritis: Antiinflammatory Action of A2A Receptor Activation

Ulrich Flgel1, Lisa Galbarz1, Zhaoping Ding1, Ali El-Tayeb2, Christoph Jacoby1, Peter van Lent3, Christa Mller2, Jrgen Schrader1

1Institute for Cardiovascular Physiology, Heinrich Heine University, Dsseldorf, NRW, Germany; 2PharmaCenter Bonn; 3Radboud University Nijmegen


Since arthritis is associated with persistent high levels of inflammation, the present study made use of the underlying autoimmune response to sensitively monitor the development of arthritis. For this purpose, we used emulsified perfluorocarbons (PFCs) which are preferentially phagocytized by monocytes/macrophages and readily detected by 19F MRI. This approach was employed to assess the therapeutical feasibility of adenosine A2A receptor activation. The results (i) show that PFCs can serve as MRI contrast agent for the early detection of arthritis, thereby permitting a more timely therapeutic intervention, and (ii) provide in vivo evidence for site-specific A2A stimulation as novel antiinflammatory therapy.