TY - JOUR T1 - Functionalized synchrotron in-line phase-contrast computed tomography: a novel approach for simultaneous quantification of structural alterations and localization of barium-labelled alveolar macrophages within mouse lung samples. JF - J Synchrotron Radiat Y1 - 2015 A1 - Dullin, Christian A1 - dal Monego, Simeone A1 - Larsson, Emanuel A1 - Mohammadi, Sara A1 - Krenkel, Martin A1 - Garrovo, Chiara A1 - Biffi, Stefania A1 - Lorenzon, Andrea A1 - Markus, Andrea A1 - Napp, Joanna A1 - Salditt, Tim A1 - Accardo, Agostino A1 - Alves, Frauke A1 - Tromba, Giuliana KW - Algorithms KW - Allergens KW - Animals KW - Asthma KW - Barium Sulfate KW - Cell Line, Transformed KW - Cell Movement KW - Contrast Media KW - Disease Models, Animal KW - Female KW - Image Processing, Computer-Assisted KW - Imaging, Three-Dimensional KW - Lung KW - Macrophages, Alveolar KW - Mice KW - Mice, Inbred BALB C KW - Microscopy, Fluorescence KW - Ovalbumin KW - Synchrotrons KW - Tomography, X-Ray Computed AB -

Functionalized computed tomography (CT) in combination with labelled cells is virtually non-existent due to the limited sensitivity of X-ray-absorption-based imaging, but would be highly desirable to realise cell tracking studies in entire organisms. In this study we applied in-line free propagation X-ray phase-contrast CT (XPCT) in an allergic asthma mouse model to assess structural changes as well as the biodistribution of barium-labelled macrophages in lung tissue. Alveolar macrophages that were barium-sulfate-loaded and fluorescent-labelled were instilled intratracheally into asthmatic and control mice. Mice were sacrificed after 24 h, lungs were kept in situ, inflated with air and scanned utilizing XPCT at the SYRMEP beamline (Elettra Synchrotron Light Source, Italy). Single-distance phase retrieval was used to generate data sets with ten times greater contrast-to-noise ratio than absorption-based CT (in our setup), thus allowing to depict and quantify structural hallmarks of asthmatic lungs such as reduced air volume, obstruction of airways and increased soft-tissue content. Furthermore, we found a higher concentration as well as a specific accumulation of the barium-labelled macrophages in asthmatic lung tissue. It is believe that XPCT will be beneficial in preclinical asthma research for both the assessment of therapeutic response as well as the analysis of the role of the recruitment of macrophages to inflammatory sites.

VL - 22 IS - Pt 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25537601?dopt=Abstract ER -