ApoE-/- mice are a widely used preclinical model of atherosclerosis, potentially accelerated by a Western diet (WD) or uremia. We aimed to compare hybrid 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography-magnetic resonance (PET-MR) and immunostaining in ApoE-/- models of accelerated atherosclerosis. Five groups were studied: standard diet-fed ApoE-/- (n = 7), standard diet-fed and uremic ApoE-/- (n = 7), WD ApoE-/- (n = 7), WD and uremic ApoE-/- (n = 6), and control C57BL/6J mice (n = 6). Uremia was induced by electrocoagulation of the right kidney at 8 weeks old, followed 2 weeks later by a contralateral nephrectomy. 18F-FDG PET-MR imaging and histological staining (anti-CD4, -CD8, -CD11c, -CD20, -CD31, -CD68, -CD163, -interferon-γ, interleukin-1α, -1β, -6, -17 A antibodies) were performed in 18-week-old mice, i.e., 8 weeks after 5/6 nephrectomy and/or WD. 18F-FDG uptake was similar in all groups. In contrast, histological staining highlighted higher percentages of CD8-, CD68-, or CD11c-positive cells in ApoE-/- aortic samples than in wild-type aortic samples. In addition, immunostaining revealed some differences between ApoE-/- mouse groups. Only the WD seemed to contribute to these differences. Using immunostaining, WD appeared to be a stronger accelerator of atherosclerosis than uremia. However, 18F-FDG PET-MR imaging failed to demonstrate in vivo increased aortic glucose uptake in these models.
Keywords: ApoE −/−; Atherosclerosis; PET-MR; Uremia; Western diet.
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.