Te Boekhorst Bernard C, van Tilborg Geralda A, Strijkers Gustav J, Nicolay Klaas
Curr Cardiovasc Imaging Rep. 2012 Feb;5(1):60-68. doi: 10.1007/s12410-011-9114-4. Epub 2011 Nov 5.
Inflammatory activity in atherosclerotic plaque is a risk factor for plaque rupture and atherothrombosis and may direct interventional therapy. Inflammatory activity can be evaluated at the (sub)cellular level using in vivo molecular MRI. This paper reviews recent progress in contrast-enhanced molecular MRI to visualize atherosclerotic plaque inflammation. Various MRI contrast agents, among others ultra-small particles of iron oxide, low-molecular-weight Gd-chelates, micelles, liposomes, and perfluorocarbon emulsions, have been used for in vivo visualization of various inflammation-related targets, such as macrophages, oxidized LDL, endothelial cell expression, plaque neovasculature, MMPs, apoptosis, and activated platelets/thrombus. An enzyme-activatable magnetic resonance contrast agent has been developed to study myeloperoxidase activity in inflamed plaques. Agents creating contrast based on the chemical exchange saturation transfer mechanism were used for thrombus imaging. Transfer of these molecular MRI techniques to the clinic will critically depend on the safety profiles of these newly developed magnetic resonance contrast agents.
动脉粥样硬化斑块中的炎症活动是斑块破裂和动脉粥样硬化血栓形成的危险因素，可能指导介入治疗。炎症活动可使用体内分子磁共振成像（MRI）在（亚）细胞水平进行评估。本文综述了对比增强分子MRI在可视化动脉粥样硬化斑块炎症方面的最新进展。各种MRI造影剂，包括超小氧化铁颗粒、低分子量钆螯合物、胶束、脂质体和全氟碳乳剂，已被用于体内可视化各种炎症相关靶点，如巨噬细胞、氧化低密度脂蛋白、内皮细胞表达、斑块新生血管、基质金属蛋白酶、细胞凋亡以及活化的血小板/血栓。一种酶可激活的磁共振造影剂已被开发用于研究炎症斑块中的髓过氧化物酶活性。基于化学交换饱和转移机制产生对比的造影剂被用于血栓成像。这些分子MRI技术向临床的转化将严重依赖于这些新开发的磁共振造影剂的安全性。
