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Blood, 1 March 2008, Vol. 111, No. 5, pp. 2909-2918. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on December 5, 2007; DOI 10.1182/blood-2007-10-119164. This Article Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Videos All Versions of this Article: blood-2007-10-119164v1 111/5/2909    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Rights and Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stelljes, M. Articles by Kienast, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Stelljes, M. Articles by Kienast, J. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?  Previous Article  |  Next Article  Submitted October 19, 2007 Accepted December 1, 2007 Clinical molecular imaging in intestinal graft-versus-host disease: mapping of disease activity, prediction and monitoring of treatment efficiency by positron emission tomography Matthias Stelljes, Sven Hermann, Jorn Albring, Gabriele Kohler, Markus Loffler, Christiane Franzius, Christopher Poremba, Verena Schlosser, Sarah Volkmann, Corinna Opitz, Christoph Bremer, Torsten Kucharzik, Gerda Silling, Otmar Schober, Wolfgang E Berdel, Michael Schafers, and Joachim Kienast* Department of Medicine / Hematology and Oncology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany Institute of Pathology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany Department of Pathology, University of Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany Department of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany Department of Medicine B, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany * Corresponding author; email: kienast{at}uni-muenster.de. Gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common and potentially life-threatening complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Non-invasive tests for assessment of GvHD activity are desirable but lacking. In the present study we were able to visualize intestinal GvHD associated inflammation in an allogeneic murine transplant model by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in vivo. A predominant localization of intestinal GvHD to the colon was verified by histology and fluorescence reflectance imaging of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expressing donor cells. Colonic infiltration by EGFP positive donor lymphocytes matched increased FDG uptake in PET examinations. These preclinical data were prospectively translated into 30 patients with suspected intestinal GvHD beyond 20 days after transplantation. Fourteen of 17 patients with a diagnostic histology showed significant FDG uptake of the gut, again predominantly in the colon. No increased FDG uptake was detected in 13 patients without histological evidence of intestinal GvHD. Our findings indicate that FDG-PET is a sensitive and specific non-invasive imaging technique to assess intestinal GvHD, map its localization and to predict and monitor treatment responsiveness. Novel targeted tracers for PET may provide new insights into the pathophysiology of GvHD and bear the potential to further improve GvHD diagnosis. CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

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