Correlation analysis of positron emission tomography/computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging of cannabinoid type 1 receptor in the lumbar spine and brain of aged osteoporosis female cynomolgus monkeys

Lu Hou; Haitong Zhang; Ying Li; Honghao Zhu; Kai Liao; Bin Guo; Chenchen Dong; Guocong Li; Weijian Ye; Lu Wang; Hao Xu

doi:10.21037/qims-23-118

Correlation analysis of positron emission tomography/computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging of cannabinoid type 1 receptor in the lumbar spine and brain of aged osteoporosis female cynomolgus monkeys

Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2023 Dec 1;13(12):7924-7935. doi: 10.21037/qims-23-118. Epub 2023 Nov 9.

Authors

Lu Hou¹, Haitong Zhang², Ying Li¹, Honghao Zhu¹, Kai Liao¹, Bin Guo¹, Chenchen Dong¹, Guocong Li¹, Weijian Ye¹, Lu Wang¹, Hao Xu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
² Department of Cardiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Although cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) antagonists can inhibit bone loss in osteoporosis mouse models, different strains of mice show different bone mass phenotypes after knock out the CB1R gene. The relationship between CB1R and bone metabolism is complex, and its regulatory role in bone metabolism and as a therapeutic target for osteoporosis requires further investigation.

Methods: Based on lumbar spine volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) data of healthy female cynomolgus monkeys aged 1-25 years, naturally aged postmenopausal female osteoporotic monkeys and normal young monkeys were screened by detecting lumbar vertebrae vBMD and estradiol levels in this study. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were performed on the lumbar spine and brain of the two groups of monkeys using the probe [¹¹C]OMAR, which specifically targets CB1R, and the difference in the CB1R expression of osteoporotic monkeys was evaluated.

Results: The vBMD values of two standard deviations (SDs) below the peak bone value (428.1±53.8 g/cm³) were set as the reference standard for osteoporosis vBMD. Of the 49 healthy female cynomolgus monkeys, 4 postmenopausal older osteoporotic monkeys (18-26 years) and 5 young control monkeys (6-7 years) were selected, and the mean vBMD of the lumbar spine of the two groups was 295.07±19.11 and 419.72±16.14 g/cm³, respectively (P<0.0001). Radioactive uptake in the lumbar spine was linearly and negatively correlated with vBMD (r=-0.7977; P=0.01). Dynamic PET/MR imaging of the brains showed that CB1R was upregulated in the osteoporosis group, and there was a negative linear correlation between the vBMD and area under the time-radioactivity curve (AUC) of the thalamus (r=-0.8506; P=0.0153) and prefrontal cortex (r=-0.8306; P=0.0207).

Conclusions: In this study, PET/CT-MRI molecular imaging technology revealed that CB1R was upregulated in the lumbar spine and brain of the osteoporosis monkeys and that CB1R may be regulated by the brain-bone axis. CB1R antagonist may be a potential drug for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Keywords: Volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD); cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R); osteoporotic; positron emission tomography/computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (PET/CT-MRI).