Strijkers Gustav J, van Tilborg Geralda A F, Geelen Tessa, Reutelingsperger Chris P M, Nicolay Klaas
Biomedical NMR, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Methods Mol Biol. 2010;624:325-42. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60761-609-2_22.
Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a morphologically and biochemically distinct form of cell death, which together with proliferation plays an important role in tissue development and homeostasis. Insufficient apoptosis is important in the pathology of various disorders such as cancer and autoimmune diseases, whereas a high apoptotic activity is associated with myocardial infarction, neurodegenerative diseases, and advanced atherosclerotic lesions. Consequently, apoptosis is recognized as an important therapeutic target, which should be either suppressed, e.g., during an ischemic cardiac infarction, or promoted, e.g., in the treatment of cancerous lesions. Imaging tools to address location, amount, and time course of apoptotic activity non-invasively in vivo are therefore of great clinical use in the evaluation of such therapies. This chapter reviews current literature and new developments in the application of nanoparticles for non-invasive apoptosis imaging. Focus is on functionalized nanoparticle contrast agents for MR imaging and bimodal nanoparticle agents that combine magnetic and fluorescent properties.
细胞凋亡，即程序性细胞死亡，是一种在形态学和生物化学上有别于其他形式的细胞死亡，它与细胞增殖共同在组织发育和内环境稳定中发挥重要作用。细胞凋亡不足在诸如癌症和自身免疫性疾病等各种病症的病理过程中具有重要意义，而高凋亡活性则与心肌梗死、神经退行性疾病及晚期动脉粥样硬化病变相关。因此，细胞凋亡被视为一个重要的治疗靶点，在缺血性心肌梗死期间应予以抑制，而在癌症病变治疗中则应予以促进。因此，能够在体内以非侵入性方式确定凋亡活性的位置、数量和时间进程的成像工具，在评估此类治疗方法时具有重大临床应用价值。本章综述了纳米颗粒在非侵入性细胞凋亡成像应用方面的当前文献和新进展。重点是用于磁共振成像的功能化纳米颗粒造影剂以及兼具磁性和荧光特性的双模态纳米颗粒制剂。
