ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Pulmonary Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1613010
68 Ga-FAPI PET/CT for Diagnostic Accuracy and Therapeutic Response Assessment in Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis: An Integrated Preclinical Study
Provisionally accepted
Rui Sun
Yilin Huang
Hao Deng
Qixin WangCanran XiaoChunmei GuoTianyu WangLisheng LiuJun Hua
Xiao Liang Chen*- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
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Objective: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic and therapeutic monitoring potential of 68 Ga-fibroblast-activating protein inhibitor (FAPI) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis (BIPF).Methods: A preclinical model was established through intratracheal bleomycin administration (2 mg/kg) in C57BL/6 mice, with nintedanib treatment (50 mg/kg/day) initiated at day 28 post-modeling for longitudinal evaluation. Disease progression and therapeutic response were analyzed weekly over five weeks using 68 Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT, complemented by histopathological validation through fibroblast activation protein (FAP) immunohistochemistry.Results: In untreated fibrotic mice, 68 Ga-FAPI-04 uptake demonstrated a progressive increase, peaking at 4w (SUVmean: Left lung: 0.68 0.14; Right lung: 0.65 0.18). Conversely, nintedanib-treated mice exhibited an unexpected elevation in tracer uptake during late-phase imaging, but SUVR showed a decrease than untreated.Conclusion: These findings underscore 68 Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT as a sensitive tool for non-invasive assessment of BIPF early diagnosis and progression. The observed discordance in tracer uptake patterns between treatment groups highlights the need for further investigation into the temporal dynamics of antifibrotic therapy response.
Keywords: 68 Ga-FAPI-04, Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, PET/CT, diagnosis, treatment monitoring
Received: 21 Apr 2025; Accepted: 17 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Huang, Deng, Wang, Xiao, Guo, Wang, Liu, Hua and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiao Liang Chen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Cancer Hospital, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
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