Science to Practice: Molecularly Targeted US of Inflammation-Important Steps toward Clinical Translation.

Dual P- and E-selectin-targeted microbubbles (MBs) have previously been used for ultrasonography (US) of acute inflammatory bowel disease in mice. In the study by Wang and colleagues, such dual-targeted MBs were evaluated in pigs. After induction of ileitis by means of 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)/ethanol installation, early inflammation, as well as mild and severe disease stages, could be distinguished. The molecularly targeted US method was characterized by high reproducibility and matched with histologic findings. This work is considered an important intermediate step in translating molecularly targeted US of inflammation from preclinical toward clinical application.