Cardiology Division, Foundation for Medical Research, Department of Medical Specialties, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Thromb Haemost. 2012 Mar;107(3):409-16. doi: 10.1160/TH11-10-0717. Epub 2012 Jan 25.
Ischaemic stroke and myocardial infarction often result from the sudden rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. The subsequent arterial thrombosis occluding the vessel lumen has been widely indicated as the crucial acute event causing peripheral tissue ischaemia. A complex cross-talk between systemic and intraplaque inflammatory mediators has been shown to regulate maturation, remodeling and final rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes (released by several cell subsets within atherosclerotic plaques), which favour atherogenesis and increase plaque vulnerability. Thus, the assessment of intraplaque levels and activity of MMP might be of pivotal relevance in the evaluation of the risk of rupture. New imaging approaches, focused on the visualisation of inflammation in the vessel wall and plaque, may emerge as tools for individualised risk assessment and prevention of events. In this review, we summarize experimental findings of the currently available invasive and noninvasive imaging techniques, used to detect the presence and activity of MMPs in atherosclerotic plaques.
缺血性卒中和心肌梗死通常是由于动脉粥样硬化斑块的突然破裂引起的。随后的动脉血栓形成阻塞血管腔已被广泛认为是导致周围组织缺血的关键急性事件。系统性和斑块内炎症介质之间的复杂串扰已被证明可以调节动脉粥样硬化斑块的成熟、重塑和最终破裂。基质金属蛋白酶（MMPs）是蛋白水解酶（由动脉粥样硬化斑块内的几个细胞亚群释放），有利于动脉粥样硬化的发生并增加斑块的脆弱性。因此，评估斑块内 MMP 的水平和活性可能对评估破裂风险具有重要意义。新的成像方法侧重于观察血管壁和斑块中的炎症，可能成为个体化风险评估和预防事件的工具。在这篇综述中，我们总结了目前可用于检测动脉粥样硬化斑块中 MMP 存在和活性的侵袭性和非侵袭性成像技术的实验结果。
