Wang Rui, Wang Lufang, Chen Yihan, Xie Yuji, He Mengrong, Zhu Ye, Xu Lingling, Han Zhengyang, Chen Dandan, Jin Qiaofeng, Zhang Li, Xie Mingxing
Department of Ultrasound, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Hubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan, China.
Curr Med Chem. 2022 Mar 4;29(8):1316-1330. doi: 10.2174/0929867328666210705145642.
Ultrasound is not only the most widely used medical imaging mode for diagnostics owing to its real-time, non-radiation, portable and low-cost merits, but also a promising targeted drug/gene delivery technique by producing a series of powerful bioeffects. The development of micron-sized or nanometer-sized ultrasound agents or delivery carriers further makes ultrasound a distinctive modality in accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. In this review, we introduce one kind of unique biogenic gas-filled protein nanostructures called gas vesicles, which present some unique characteristics beyond the conventional microbubbles. Gas vesicles can not only serve as ultrasound contrast agent with innovative imaging methods such as cross-amplitude modulation harmonic imaging, but also can further be adjusted and optimized via genetic engineered techniques. Moreover, they could not only serve as acoustic gene reporters, acoustic biosensors to monitor the cell metabolism, but also serve as cavitation nuclei and drug carrier for therapeutic purpose. We focus on the latest development and applications in the area of ultrasound imaging and targeted therapeutics, and also give a brief introduction to the corresponding mechanisms. In summary, these biogenic gas vesicles show some advantages over conventional MBs that deserve making more efforts to promote their development.
超声不仅因其实时、无辐射、便携和低成本的优点而成为诊断中应用最广泛的医学成像模式，而且通过产生一系列强大的生物效应，它也是一种很有前景的靶向药物/基因递送技术。微米级或纳米级超声剂或递送载体的发展进一步使超声在精确诊断和有效治疗方面成为一种独特的方式。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了一种独特的生物源充气蛋白纳米结构——气体囊泡，它具有一些超越传统微泡的独特特性。气体囊泡不仅可以作为超声造影剂用于诸如交叉幅度调制谐波成像等创新成像方法，还可以通过基因工程技术进一步进行调整和优化。此外，它们不仅可以作为声学基因报告器、声学生物传感器来监测细胞代谢，还可以作为用于治疗目的的空化核和药物载体。我们关注超声成像和靶向治疗领域的最新发展和应用，并简要介绍了相应的机制。总之，这些生物源气体囊泡相对于传统微泡显示出一些优势，值得付出更多努力来促进它们的发展。
