Circulation. 2007 Jan 23;115(3):377-86 doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.106.654913. 2007 Jan 15.

Multimodality molecular imaging identifies proteolytic and osteogenic activities in early aortic valve disease

Aikawa E, Nahrendorf M, Sosnovik D, Lok VM, Jaffer FA, Aikawa M, Weissleder R.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Visualizing early changes in valvular cell functions in vivo may predict the future risk and identify therapeutic targets for prevention of aortic valve stenosis.
METHODS AND RESULTS: To test the hypotheses that (1) aortic stenosis shares a similar pathogenesis to atherosclerosis and (2) molecular imaging can detect early changes in aortic valve disease, we used in vivo a panel of near-infrared fluorescence imaging agents to map endothelial cells, macrophages, proteolysis, and osteogenesis in aortic valves of hypercholesterolemic apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (30 weeks old, n=30). Apolipoprotein E-deficient mice with no probe injection (n=10) and wild-type mice (n=10) served as controls. Valves of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice contained macrophages, were thicker than wild-type mice (P CONCLUSIONS: Molecular imaging can detect in vivo the key cellular events in early aortic valve disease, including endothelial cell and macrophage activation, proteolytic activity, and osteogenesis.

PMID: 17224478