TY  - JOUR
AB  - PURPOSE: As atherosclerotic plaque ruptures are the primary cause of ischaemic events, their preventive identification by imaging remains a clinical challenge. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) are involved in plaque progression and destabilisation and are therefore promising targets to characterize rupture-prone unstable plaques. This study aims at evaluating MMP imaging to discriminate unstable from stable plaque phenotypes. METHODS: ApoE deficient mice (ApoE-/-) on a high cholesterol diet underwent implantation of a tapered cuff around the right common carotid artery (CCA) inducing a highly inflamed atherosclerotic plaque upstream (US) and a more stable plaque phenotype downstream (DS) of the cuff. 8 weeks after surgery, the MMP inhibitor-based photoprobe Cy5.5-AF443 was administered i.v. 3h prior to in situ and ex vivo fluorescence reflectance imaging of the CCAs. Thereafter, CCAs were analysed regarding plaque size, presence of macrophages, and MMP-2 and MMP-9 concentrations by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. RESULTS: We found a significantly higher uptake of Cy5.5-AF443 in US as compared to DS plaques in situ (1.29 vs. 1.06 plaque-to-background ratio; p<0.001), which was confirmed by ex vivo measurements. Immunohistochemistry revealed a higher presence of macrophages, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in US compared to DS plaques. Accordingly, MMP-2 concentrations were significantly higher in US plaques (47.2±7.6 vs. 29.6±4.6 ng/mg; p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In the ApoE-/- cuff model MMP-2 and MMP-9 activities are significantly higher in upstream low shear stress-induced unstable atherosclerotic plaques as compared to downstream more stable plaque phenotypes. MMP inhibitor-based fluorescence molecular imaging allows visualization of these differences in shear stress-induced atherosclerosis.
AU  - Seifert, Robert
AU  - Kuhlmann, Michael Theodor
AU  - Eligehausen, Sarah Yoon Hee
AU  - Kiefer, Friedemann
AU  - Hermann, Sven
AU  - Schäfers, Michael
DA  - 2018-10-10
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0204305
LA  - eng
N1  - PLoS ONE 13 (2018) 10, e0204305, 1-16
N1  - Finanziert durch den Open-Access-Publikationsfonds 2018 der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) und der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU Münster).
PY  - 2018-10-10
TI  - Molecular imaging of MMP activity discriminates unstable from stable plaque phenotypes in shear-stress induced murine atherosclerosis
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hbz:6-64189621633
Y2  - 2024-11-22T00:52:13
ER  -