PERFLUORO-15-CROWN-5-ETHER LABELED MACROPHAGES IN ADOPTIVE TRANSFER EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS

In this serial in,lire study, macrophages labelled with perfluoro-15-c rown-5-ether (15C5) were monitored in rats after inducing adoptive tra nsfer experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (AT-EAE). AT-EAE is an a nimal model of multiple sclerosis and is characterized by inflammatory infiltrates in the central nervous system (CNS) and breakdown of the blood-brain-barrier, A particular feature of AT-EAE are macrophage inf iltrates. Purpose of this study was to monitor the invasive and evasiv e phase of the macrophages in AT-EAE by using 3-dimensional 19F magnet ic resonance imaging (3D 19F-MRI). In the early stage of the disease, a much stronger 19F-signal intensity was observed in AT-EAE-rats than in healthy control rats in the tissue adjacent to CNS regions severely affected by inflammatory infiltrates, and thereafter the 19F-signal i ntensity was decreasing over the time. However, no 19F-signal could be observed in the CNS itself neither in AT-EAE-rats nor in control rats . According to these findings it is assumed that we monitored the evas ion of the macrophages from the region of inflammation.