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Vinegoni, C.* ; Botnaru, I.* ; Aikawa, E.* ; Calfon, M.A.* ; Iwamoto, Y.* ; Folco, E.J.* ; Ntziachristos, V. ; Weissleder, R.* ; Libby, P.* ; Jaffer, F.A.

Indocyanine green enables near-infrared fluorescence imaging of lipid-rich, inflamed atherosclerotic plaques.

Sci. Transl. Med. 3:84ra85 (2011)
DOI PMC
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
New high-resolution molecular and structural imaging strategies are needed to visualize high-risk plaques that are likely to cause acute myocardial infarction, because current diagnostic methods do not reliably identify at-risk subjects. Although molecular imaging agents are available for low-resolution detection of atherosclerosis in large arteries, a lack of imaging agents coupled to high-resolution modalities has limited molecular imaging of atherosclerosis in the smaller coronary arteries. Here, we have demonstrated that indocyanine green (ICG), a Food and Drug Administration-approved near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF)-emitting compound, targets atheromas within 20 min of injection and provides sufficient signal enhancement for in vivo detection of lipid-rich, inflamed, coronary-sized plaques in atherosclerotic rabbits. In vivo NIRF sensing was achieved with an intravascular wire in the aorta, a vessel of comparable caliber to human coronary arteries. Ex vivo fluorescence reflectance imaging showed high plaque target-to-background ratios in atheroma-bearing rabbits injected with ICG compared to atheroma-bearing rabbits injected with saline. In vitro studies using human macrophages established that ICG preferentially targets lipid-loaded macrophages. In an early clinical study of human atheroma specimens from four patients, we found that ICG colocalized with plaque macrophages and lipids. The atheroma-targeting capability of ICG has the potential to accelerate the clinical development of NIRF molecular imaging of high-risk plaques in humans.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords no keywords
ISSN (print) / ISBN 1946-6234
e-ISSN 1946-6242
Journal Science Translational Medicine
Quellenangaben Volume: 3, Issue: 84, Pages: , Article Number: 84ra85 Supplement: ,
Publisher American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI)