B lymphocytes are a key pathologic feature of multiple sclerosis (MS) and are becoming an important therapeutic target for this condition. Currently, there is no approved technique to noninvasively visualize B cells in the central nervous system (CNS) to monitor MS disease progression and response to therapies. Here, we evaluated
64Cu-rituximab, a radiolabeled antibody specifically targeting the human B cell marker CD20, for its ability to image B cells in a mouse model of MS using PET.
Methods
To model CNS infiltration by B cells, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) was induced in transgenic mice that express human CD20 on B cells. EAE mice were given subcutaneous injections of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein fragment
1–125 emulsified in complete Freund adjuvant. Control mice received complete Freund adjuvant alone. PET imaging of EAE and control mice was performed 1, 4, and 19 h after
64Cu-rituximab administration. Mice were perfused and sacrificed after the final PET scan, and radioactivity in dissected tissues was measured with a γ-counter. CNS tissues from these mice were immunostained to quantify B cells or were further analyzed via digital autoradiography.
Results
Lumbar spinal cord PET signal was significantly higher in EAE mice than in controls at all evaluated time points (e.g., 1 h after injection: 5.44 ± 0.37 vs. 3.33 ± 0.20 percentage injected dose [%ID]/g,
P < 0.05).
64Cu-rituximab PET signal in brain regions ranged between 1.74 ± 0.11 and 2.93 ± 0.15 %ID/g for EAE mice, compared with 1.25 ± 0.08 and 2.24 ± 0.11 %ID/g for controls (
P < 0.05 for all regions except striatum and thalamus at 1 h after injection). Similarly, ex vivo biodistribution results revealed notably higher
64Cu-rituximab uptake in the brain and spinal cord of huCD20tg EAE, and B220 immunostaining verified that increased
64Cu-rituximab uptake in CNS tissues corresponded with elevated B cells.
Conclusion
B cells can be detected in the CNS of EAE mice using
64Cu-rituximab PET. Results from these studies warrant further investigation of
64Cu-rituximab in EAE models and consideration of use in MS patients to evaluate its potential for detecting and monitoring B cells in the progression and treatment of this disease. These results represent an initial step toward generating a platform to evaluate B cell–targeted therapeutics en route to the clinic.