TY - JOUR A1 - Weibel, Stephanie A1 - Basse-Luesebrink, Thomas Christian A1 - Hess, Michael A1 - Hofmann, Elisabeth A1 - Seubert, Carolin A1 - Langbein-Laugwitz, Johanna A1 - Gentschev, Ivaylo A1 - Sturm, Volker Jörg Friedrich A1 - Ye, Yuxiang A1 - Kampf, Thomas A1 - Jakob, Peter Michael A1 - Szalay, Aladar A. T1 - Imaging of Intratumoral Inflammation during Oncolytic Virotherapy of Tumors by \(^{19}\)F-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Oncolytic virotherapy of tumors is an up-coming, promising therapeutic modality of cancer therapy. Unfortunately, non-invasive techniques to evaluate the inflammatory host response to treatment are rare. Here, we evaluate \(^{19}\)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which enables the non-invasive visualization of inflammatory processes in pathological conditions by the use of perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions (PFC) for monitoring of oncolytic virotherapy. Methodology/Principal Findings The Vaccinia virus strain GLV-1h68 was used as an oncolytic agent for the treatment of different tumor models. Systemic application of PFC emulsions followed by \(^1H\)/\(^{19}\)F MRI of mock-infected and GLV-1h68-infected tumor-bearing mice revealed a significant accumulation of the \(^{19}\)F signal in the tumor rim of virus-treated mice. Histological examination of tumors confirmed a similar spatial distribution of the \(^{19}\)F signal hot spots and \(CD68^+\)-macrophages. Thereby, the \(CD68^+\)-macrophages encapsulate the GFP-positive viral infection foci. In multiple tumor models, we specifically visualized early inflammatory cell recruitment in Vaccinia virus colonized tumors. Furthermore, we documented that the \(^{19}\)F signal correlated with the extent of viral spreading within tumors. Conclusions/Significance These results suggest \(^{19}\)F MRI as a non-invasive methodology to document the tumor-associated host immune response as well as the extent of intratumoral viral replication. Thus, \(^{19}\)F MRI represents a new platform to non-invasively investigate the role of the host immune response for therapeutic outcome of oncolytic virotherapy and individual patient response. KW - inflammation KW - fluorescence microscopy KW - oncolytic viruses KW - fluorescence imaging KW - macrophages KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - histology KW - in vivo imaging Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-130311 VL - 8 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weise, Gesa A1 - Basse-Lüsebrink, Thomas C. A1 - Kleinschnitz, Christoph A1 - Kampf, Thomas A1 - Jakob, Peter M. A1 - Stoll, Guido T1 - In Vivo Imaging of Stepwise Vessel Occlusion in Cerebral Photothrombosis of Mice by \(^{19}\)F MRI JF - PLoS One N2 - Background \(^{19}\)F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was recently introduced as a promising technique for in vivo cell tracking. In the present study we compared \(^{19}\)F MRI with iron-enhanced MRI in mice with photothrombosis (PT) at 7 Tesla. PT represents a model of focal cerebral ischemia exhibiting acute vessel occlusion and delayed neuroinflammation. Methods/Principal Findings Perfluorocarbons (PFC) or superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (SPIO) were injected intravenously at different time points after photothrombotic infarction. While administration of PFC directly after PT induction led to a strong \(^{19}\)F signal throughout the entire lesion, two hours delayed application resulted in a rim-like \(^{19}\)F signal at the outer edge of the lesion. These findings closely resembled the distribution of signal loss on T2-weighted MRI seen after SPIO injection reflecting intravascular accumulation of iron particles trapped in vessel thrombi as confirmed histologically. By sequential administration of two chemically shifted PFC compounds 0 and 2 hours after illumination the different spatial distribution of the \(^{19}\)F markers (infarct core/rim) could be visualized in the same animal. When PFC were applied at day 6 the fluorine marker was only detected after long acquisition times ex vivo. SPIO-enhanced MRI showed slight signal loss in vivo which was much more prominent ex vivo indicative for neuroinflammation at this late lesion stage. Conclusion Our study shows that vessel occlusion can be followed in vivo by \(^{19}\)F and SPIO-enhanced high-field MRI while in vivo imaging of neuroinflammation remains challenging. The timing of contrast agent application was the major determinant of the underlying processes depicted by both imaging techniques. Importantly, sequential application of different PFC compounds allowed depiction of ongoing vessel occlusion from the core to the margin of the ischemic lesions in a single MRI measurement. KW - in vivo imaging KW - magnetic resonance imaging KW - macrophages KW - emulsions KW - infarction KW - fluorine KW - prefrontal cortex KW - developmental signaling Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-137792 VL - 6 IS - 12 ER -