Ling Wen, Regatte Ravinder R, Navon Gil, Jerschow Alexej
Chemistry Department, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Feb 19;105(7):2266-70. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0707666105. Epub 2008 Feb 11.
Glycosaminogycans (GAGs) are involved in numerous vital functions in the human body. Mapping the GAG concentration in vivo is desirable for the diagnosis and monitoring of a number of diseases such as osteoarthritis, which affects millions of individuals. GAG loss in cartilage is typically an initiating event in osteoarthritis. Another widespread pathology related to GAG is intervertebral disk degeneration. Currently existing techniques for GAG monitoring, such as delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI contrast (dGEMRIC), T(1)(rho), and (23)Na MRI, have some practical limitations. We show that by exploiting the exchangeable protons of GAG one may directly measure the localized GAG concentration in vivo with high sensitivity and therefore obtain a powerful diagnostic MRI method.
糖胺聚糖(GAGs)参与人体多种重要功能。绘制体内GAG浓度对于诊断和监测多种疾病(如影响数百万人的骨关节炎)是很有必要的。软骨中GAG的流失通常是骨关节炎的起始事件。另一种与GAG相关的普遍病理情况是椎间盘退变。目前现有的用于GAG监测的技术,如延迟钆增强磁共振成像对比(dGEMRIC)、T1ρ和23Na磁共振成像,存在一些实际局限性。我们表明,通过利用GAG的可交换质子,可以在体内直接以高灵敏度测量局部GAG浓度,从而获得一种强大的诊断性磁共振成像方法。