Imaging of activated macrophages in experimental osteoarthritis using folate-targeted animal single-photon-emission computed tomography/computed tomography

摘要

Evaluation of macrophage activation may provide essential information about the etiology and progression rate of osteoarthritis (OA). Activated macrophages abundantly express folate receptor ? (FR?), which can be targeted using radioactive-labeled folic acid. This study was undertaken to investigate whether macrophage activation can be monitored in small animal models of OA using a folate radiotracer and to determine whether macrophage activation differs in different models of OA with different OA progression.