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

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.