Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to severe dysfunction below injured segment and poses a great pressure to the individual and society. In this study, we applied 18F-alfatide II positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) to monitor angiogenesis in an SCI model after estrogen (E2) treatment, as well as to evaluate the prognosis in a noninvasive manner. The SCI model was established with male rats and the rats were randomly divided into E2-treated group (SCI + E2) and E2-untreated group (SCI). Sham group was also used as control (Sham). The angiogenesis after SCI was monitored by 18F-alfatide II PET/CT and verified by immunofluorescence of CD31 and CD61. We also evaluated the level of E2 and growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Finally, Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores were determined to evaluate the exercise capacity of the rats in all 3 groups. Our results showed that the BBB score of SCI + E2 group was significantly different from that of SCI group (P < .05) and Sham group (P < .01). The uptake of 18F-alfatide II was positively correlated with the expression level of GAP43, both of which reached the peak at day 7 after injury. CD31 and CD61 immunostaining further verified increased angiogenesis in E2-treated SCI lesions. We concluded that 18F-alfatide II PET/CT can monitor the angiogenesis status after SCI in vivo and it may help clinician predict the progression of patients with SCI. This may benefit the study of vascular repair after SCI and provide a tool for evaluation of SCI treatment in clinical practices.
Highlights
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a catastrophic event which usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly
Fluorescence staining against bIII tubulin (Figure 1B) showed that the structure of microtubulin was normal in Sham group, while the structure of microtubulin in the damaged area of SCI groups was seriously damaged
By comparing SCI þ E2 and SCI group, we found that there was no significant difference between the 2 groups on day 3 and day 14, but there was a significant difference on day 7, indicating that angiogenesis can be used a maker to reflect the regeneration of axons
Summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a catastrophic event which usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly. Spinal cord injury is prevalent in males aged 18 to 32 years in developing countries, leading to severe disability and lethal complications and causing a heavy burden to both the family and the society.[1,2] Spinal cord injury is initiated by a primary injury such as mechanical contusion of the spinal cord, which results in progressive tissue loss. The secondary injury comes from blood vessel dysfunction and inflammation at the epicenter since the milieu of cellular debris and blood at the epicenter is toxic, causing further cell death.[3,4] Neurons are believed to be highly sensitive to such noxious stimuli and are extremely vulnerable to the reductions of perfusion and resultant periods of ischemia.[5] The overall neuronal functions can be compromised by blood vessel loss and disruption of the blood–spinal cord barrier following
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