Abstract 17828: 89Zr-Bevacizumab PET Detects Arteriolar Remodeling In Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension

Introduction: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease of progressive pulmonary vascular remodeling and obliteration with poor prognosis despite current therapies. Outcomes in PAH might be improved by earlier detection to permit therapy before irreversible loss of pulmonary vessels. The histology of remodeled lung vessels in human and experimental pulmonary hypertension (PH) exhibits increased expression of angiogenic growth factors and resembles dysregulated angiogenesis. We sought to validate VEGF-A as a molecular imaging marker of pulmonary vascular remodeling in experimental PH. Hypothesis: 89Zr-bevacizumab, a radiolabeled anti-VEGF-A antibody, can detect pulmonary vascular remodeling via PET-CT imaging in experimental models of PH. Methods: Experimental PH was induced in rats with 3 weeks of treatment with SU5416 and hypoxia (SU-Hx) treatment followed by 3 weeks of normoxia, or by treatment with monocrotaline (MCT) for 3 weeks. VEGF-A expression was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in...