Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5233, USA.
Biomaterials. 2011 Feb;32(5):1430-7. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.09.029. Epub 2010 Nov 11.
Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of death worldwide. Macrophages are key components of vascular inflammation, which contributes to the development and complications of atherosclerosis. Ferritin, an iron storage and transport protein, has been found to accumulate in macrophages in human atherosclerotic plaques. We hypothesized that ferritin could serve as an intrinsic nano-platform to target delivery of imaging agents to vascular macrophages to detect high-risk atherosclerotic plaques. Here we show that engineered human ferritin protein cages, either conjugated to the fluorescent Cy5.5 molecule or encapsulating a magnetite nanoparticle, are taken up in vivo by macrophages in murine atherosclerotic carotid arteries and can be imaged by fluorescence and magnetic resonance imaging. These results indicate that human ferritin can serve as a nanoparticle platform to image vascular inflammation in vivo.
动脉粥样硬化是全球范围内主要的致死原因。巨噬细胞是血管炎症的关键组成部分，而血管炎症会导致动脉粥样硬化的发展和并发症。铁蛋白是一种铁储存和转运蛋白，已在人类动脉粥样硬化斑块中的巨噬细胞中积累。我们假设铁蛋白可以作为一种内在的纳米平台，将成像剂靶向递送至血管巨噬细胞，以检测高危动脉粥样硬化斑块。在这里，我们展示了工程化的人铁蛋白蛋白笼，无论是与荧光 Cy5.5 分子缀合，还是封装了磁铁矿纳米颗粒，都可以被小鼠动脉粥样硬化颈动脉中的巨噬细胞摄取，并可以通过荧光和磁共振成像进行成像。这些结果表明，人铁蛋白可以作为纳米颗粒平台，在体内对血管炎症进行成像。
