Abstract
Current trends in molecular magnetic resonance imaging of the extracellular matrix in atherosclerosis
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases are accountable for almost one-third of sudden and premature death cases worldwide [1]
This review presents a summary of the recent advancements in the field of molecular probes for extracellular matrix (ECM) imaging in the context of atherosclerosis
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is an ubiquitary element of both healthy and diseased tissues. This is valid for atherosclerotic plaques, whose mass is to a considerable extent formed by ECM components such as collagen, elastin, fibrin, glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and proteoglycans
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases are accountable for almost one-third of sudden and premature death cases worldwide [1]. EP-3533 - a type I collagen-targeting probe was presented by Caravan et al in 2007 [16] This gadolinium-based molecular agent has so far successfully been tested for the specific detection of earlystage fibrosis across various small animal disease models, including myocardial infarction [16], liver fibrosis [17,18]and pulmonary fibrosis [19]. While the accumulation of the iron-oxide-based contrast agent was most prominent in the early stage of plaque development following two months of high-fat diet (HFD), the elastin-specific probe showed the highest accumulation in advanced plaques after four months of HFD. Botnar et al developed the fibrin-targeted gadolinium-based peptide probe EP-1873 with high relaxivity and stability [38], called EP1873 that was subsequently tested in an atherosclerotic New Zealand white rabbit model. The results suggested that the interaction of pathologically increased GAGs influences both the uptake of VSOP into atherosclerotic lesions and the accumulation within the diseased tissue, thereby enabling non-invasive MRI assessment of plaque inflammation and increased endothelial permeability [52,53]
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