Wang Xin, Mu Dan, Liang Jing, Xin Ruijing, Zhang Yukun, Liu Renyuan, Yao Mei, Zhang Bing
Department of Radiology The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School Nanjing China.
Medical Imaging Center Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital Medical School of Nanjing University Nanjing China.
Smart Med. 2024 Dec 3;3(4):e20240033. doi: 10.1002/SMMD.20240033. eCollection 2024 Dec.
Atherosclerosis (AS) is a major cause of cardiovascular disease. In particular, the unpredictable rupture of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques (VASPs) can cause serious cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and even sudden death. Therefore, early evaluation of the vulnerability of atherosclerotic plaques is of great importance. However, clinical imaging techniques are only marginally useful in the presence of severe anatomical structural changes, making it difficult to evaluate plaque vulnerability at an early stage. With the development of molecular imaging and nanotechnology, specific nanoprobes constructed for the pathological features of VASPs have attracted much attention for their ability to visualize VASPs early and noninvasively at the cellular and molecular levels. Here, we outline the pathological features of VASPs, analyze the superiority and limitations of current clinical imaging techniques, introduce the rational design principles of nanoprobes, and systematically summarize the application of nanoprobes to visualize the features of VASPs at the cellular and molecular levels. In addition, we discussed the prospects and urgent challenges in this field, and we believe it will provide new ideas for the early and accurate diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.
动脉粥样硬化（AS）是心血管疾病的主要病因。特别是，易损动脉粥样硬化斑块（VASPs）的不可预测破裂可导致严重的心血管事件，如心肌梗死、中风，甚至猝死。因此，早期评估动脉粥样硬化斑块的易损性至关重要。然而，临床成像技术在存在严重解剖结构变化时作用有限，难以在早期阶段评估斑块易损性。随着分子成像和纳米技术的发展，针对VASPs病理特征构建的特异性纳米探针因其能够在细胞和分子水平上早期且无创地可视化VASPs的能力而备受关注。在此，我们概述VASPs的病理特征，分析当前临床成像技术的优势和局限性，介绍纳米探针的合理设计原则，并系统总结纳米探针在细胞和分子水平上可视化VASPs特征的应用。此外，我们讨论了该领域的前景和紧迫挑战，我们相信这将为心血管疾病的早期准确诊断提供新思路。
