CXCR4-targeted PET imaging in rheumatoid arthritis: a novel approach for monitoring disease activity and therapeutic response

作者：Yaling Han, Shuo Cao, Jie Liu, Binbin Ding, Shijie Wang, Jihong Pan, Yongpeng Ge, Kai Cheng, Lin Wang, Luna Ge · 发表于：EJNMMI Research · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s13550-025-01203-z · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Rheumatoid Arthritis Research and Therapies、Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research、Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Research

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease, and early clinical diagnosis is crucial for its treatment. CXCR4 expression was characterized in arthritic mouse models and joints of RA patients, and [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 specificity was assessed in non-malignant cells with elevated CXCR4 expression. This study explored the application of CXCR4-targeted PET probe [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 in monitoring disease activity and therapeutic efficacy in RA. To this aim, the metabolic characteristics of [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 and correlation of [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 uptake with arthritis severity were evaluated by PET imaging in arthritic mice. [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 potential in evaluating therapeutic efficacy was further investigated in arthritic mice following methotrexate (MTX) and etanercept (ETC) treatment. CXCR4 expression was significantly increased in the inflamed joints of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and collagen-antibody induced arthritic (CAIA) mice, and in synovial tissues of RA patients. [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 showed high specificity for CXCR4, with increased probe uptake in arthritic joints that was strongly correlated with arthritis severity scores. PET imaging revealed that increased uptake of [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 in arthritic joints paralleled disease activity, with uptake decreasing upon remission. Furthermore, [ 18 F]AIF-NOTA-QHA-04 PET imaging provided earlier and more sensitive assessments of the efficacy of MTX and ETC compa...