1. Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, WI, USA;
Theranostics. 2013 Nov 2;3(11):894-902. doi: 10.7150/thno.5506.
Atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular events are the leading causes of death in the industrialized world. Atherosclerosis develops insidiously and the initial manifestation is usually sudden cardiac death, stroke, or myocardial infarction. Molecular imaging is a valuable tool to identify the disease at an early stage before fatal manifestations occur. Among the various molecular imaging techniques, this review mainly focuses on positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of atherosclerosis. The targets and pathways that have been investigated to date for PET imaging of atherosclerosis include: glycolysis, cell membrane metabolism (phosphatidylcholine synthesis), integrin αvβ3, low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors (LDLr), natriuretic peptide clearance receptors (NPCRs), fatty acid synthesis, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), macrophages, platelets, etc. Many PET tracers have been investigated clinically for imaging of atherosclerosis. Early diagnosis of atherosclerotic lesions by PET imaging can help to prevent the premature death caused by atherosclerosis, and smooth translation of promising PET tracers into the clinic is critical to the benefit of patients.
动脉粥样硬化相关心血管事件是工业化国家的主要死亡原因。动脉粥样硬化的发生是隐匿的，最初的表现通常是心脏性猝死、中风或心肌梗死。分子成像技术是在致命表现发生之前识别疾病的早期阶段的一种有价值的工具。在各种分子成像技术中，本综述主要侧重于动脉粥样硬化的正电子发射断层扫描（PET）成像。迄今为止，已针对动脉粥样硬化的 PET 成像研究了以下靶点和途径：糖酵解、细胞膜代谢（磷酸胆碱合成）、整合素αvβ3、低密度脂蛋白（LDL）受体（LDLr）、利钠肽清除受体（NPCRs）、脂肪酸合成、血管细胞黏附分子-1（VCAM-1）、巨噬细胞、血小板等。已经有许多 PET 示踪剂在临床上用于动脉粥样硬化的成像。通过 PET 成像对动脉粥样硬化病变进行早期诊断有助于预防动脉粥样硬化引起的过早死亡，将有前途的 PET 示踪剂顺利转化为临床应用对于患者的获益至关重要。
