RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 HAP-multitag, a PET and positive MRI contrast nanotracer for the longitudinal characterization of vascular calcifications in atherosclerosis
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.10.20.345843
DO 10.1101/2020.10.20.345843
A1 Juan Pellico
A1 Irene Fernández-Barahona
A1 Jesús Ruiz-Cabello
A1 Lucía Gutiérrez
A1 María J. Sánchez-Guisado
A1 Irati Aiestarán-Zelaia
A1 Lydia Martínez-Parra
A1 Ignacio Rodríguez
A1 Jacob Bentzon
A1 Fernando Herranz
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/10/21/2020.10.20.345843.abstract
AB Vascular microcalcifications are associated with atherosclerosis plaque instability and, therefore, to increased mortality. Because of this key role, several imaging probes have been developed for their in vivo identification. Among them [18F]FNa is the gold standard, showing a large uptake in the whole skeleton. Here, we push the field towards the combined anatomical and functional early characterization of atherosclerosis. For that, we have developed HAP-multitag, a bisphosphonate-functionalized 68Ga magnetic nanoparticle showing high affinity towards most common calcium salts present in microcalcifications, particularly hydroxyapatite. We characterized this interaction in vitro and in vivo, showing a massive uptake in the atherosclerotic lesion identified by PET and positive contrast MRI. In addition, this accumulation was found to be dependent on the calcification progression, with a maximum uptake in the microcalcification stage. These results confirmed the ability of HAP-multitag to identify vascular calcifications by PET/(T1)MRI during the vulnerable stages of the plaque progression.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.