Identifying active vascular microcalcification by (18)F-sodium fluoride positron emission tomography.

Vascular calcification is a complex biological process that is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. While macrocalcification confers plaque stability, microcalcification is a key feature of high-risk atheroma and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Positron emission tomography and X-ray computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of atherosclerosis using (18)F-sodium fluoride ((18)F-NaF) has the potential to identify pathologically high-risk nascent microcalcification.

Dynamic in vivo imaging of receptors in small animals using positron emission tomography.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique with the potential to image and quantify receptors in vivo with high sensitivity. PET has been used extensively to study major neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and benzodiazepine in humans as well as proving to be a very powerful tool to accelerate development and assessment of existing and novel drugs. With the recent development of dedicated PET scanners for small animals, such as the microPET, it is now possible to perform functional imaging in small animals such as rodents at high resolution.

Quantitative phosphor imaging autoradiography of radioligands for positron emission tomography.

Imaging using phosphor screens have increasingly been employed for the analysis of radioactive samples in molecular biology, pharmacology, and receptor autoradiography. The major advantages of phosphor screens compared to radiation sensitive film are their greatly increased sensitivity, reducing exposure times with at least one order of magnitude, and their increased linear dynamic range. These features make phosphor screens ideal for imaging short-lived radionuclides, where exposure times are limited, such as (11)C and (18)F widely used to label radioligands for positron emission tomography (PET).

Recapitulation of Werner syndrome sensitivity to camptothecin by limited knockdown of the WRN helicase/exonuclease.

WRN is a RecQ helicase with an associated exonuclease activity important in DNA metabolism, including DNA replication, repair and recombination. In humans, deficiencies in WRN function cause the segmental progeroid Werner syndrome (WS), in which patients show premature onset of many hallmarks of normal human ageing. At the cellular level, WRN loss results in rapid replicative senescence, chromosomal instability and sensitivity to various DNA damaging agents including the topoisomerase inhibitor, camptothecin (CPT).

FDG-PET can distinguish inflamed from non-inflamed plaque in an animal model of atherosclerosis.

The presence of activated macrophages is an important predictor of atherosclerotic plaque rupture. In this study, our aim was to determine the accuracy of (18)F- fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) microPET imaging for quantifying aortic wall macrophage content in a rabbit model of atherosclerosis. Rabbits were divided into a control group and two groups post aortic balloon injury: 6 months high-cholesterol diet (HC); and 3 months HC followed by 3 months low-cholesterol diet plus statin (LCS).

Strategy for improved [(11)C]DAA1106 radiosynthesis and in vivo peripheral benzodiazepine receptor imaging using microPET, evaluation of [(11)C]DAA1106.

Introduction: The peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR) has shown considerable potential as a clinical marker of neuroinflammation and tumour progression. [(11)C]DAA1106 ([(11)C]N-(2,5-dimethoxybenzyl)-N-(5-fluoro-2-phenoxyphenyl)-acetamide) is a promising positron emission tomography (PET) radioligand for imaging PBRs.

Methods: A four-step synthetic route was devised to prepare DAA1123, the precursor for [(11)C]DAA1106.

Notochordal cell produce and assemble extracellular matrix in a distinct manner, which may be responsible for the maintenance of healthy nucleus pulposus.

Study Design: Analysis of proteoglycan synthesis, distribution and assembly of notochordal cells and small nucleus pulposus cells embedded in alginate beads and cultured in presence of [S]-Na2SO4.

Objective: To determine whether the degeneration of the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc is associated with a change in the cell phenotype.

Summary Of Background Data: The loss of the notochordal cell from the nucleus pulposus is associated with ageing and disc degeneration.

Bridging the gap: ageing, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in elderly patients generally result in an increase in the incidence of drug toxicity and adverse drug reactions. Molecular alterations associated with ageing could bring about biological changes, a consequence of which is an altered response to pharmacological agents. Unfortunately, research in this area has yet to progress beyond the cataloguing of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes observed in the elderly.

Age-related changes in the composition, the molecular stoichiometry and the stability of proteoglycan aggregates extracted from human articular cartilage.

The heterogeneity of the components of proteoglycan aggregates, their stoichiometry within the aggregate and the aggregates' stability was investigated in normal human articular cartilage specimens (age-range newborn to 63 years). Proteoglycans were extracted from tissue by sequentially extracting them with PBS alone, PBS containing oligosaccharides of hyaluronan, and PBS containing solutions of increasing guanidinium chloride concentration (1 M, 2 M, 3 M and 4 M). A high proportion of each of the components of the proteoglycan aggregate, i.