The present study seeks to observe the preventive effects of doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy (DOX-CM) in rats using targeted non-mitogenic acidic fibroblast growth factor (MaFGF) mediated by nanoparticles (NP) combined with ultrasound-targeted MB destruction (UTMD). DOX-CM rats were induced by intraperitoneally injected doxorubicin. Six weeks after intervention, the indices from the transthoracic echocardiography and velocity vector imaging showed that the left ventricular function in the MaFGF-loaded NP (MaFGF-NP) + UTMD group was significantly improved compared with the DOX-CM group. The increased malondialdehyde and decreased superoxide dismutase were observed in the DOX-CM group, while a significant increase in superoxide dismutase and a decrease in malondialdehyde were detected in the groups treated with MaFGF-NP + UTMD. From the Masson staining, the MaFGF-NP + UTMD group showed a significant difference from the DOX-CM group. The cardiac collagen volume fraction and the ratio of the perivascular collagen area to the luminal area number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling positive cells in the MaFGF-NP + UTMD group decreased to 8.9%, 0.55-fold, compared with the DOX-CM group (26.5%, 1.7-fold). From terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling staining, the results showed the strongest inhibition of apoptosis progress in MaFGF-NP + UTMD group. The immunohistochemical staining of the TGF-β1 in MaFGF-NP + UTMD group reached 3.6%, which was much lower than that of the DOX-CM group (12.6%). These results confirmed that the abnormalities, including left ventricular dysfunction, myocardial fibrosis, cardiomyocytes apoptosis and oxidative stress, could be suppressed by twice weekly MaFGF treatments for 6 consecutive weeks (free MaFGF or MaFGF-NP+/UTMD), with the strongest improvements observed in the MaFGF-NP + UTMD group. Western blot analyses of the heart tissue further revealed the highest pAkt levels, highest anti-apoptosis protein (Bcl-2) levels and strongest reduction in proapoptosis protein (Bax) levels in the MaFGF-NP + UTMD group. This study confirmed the preventive effects of DOX-CM in the rats with MaFGF-NP and UTMD by retarding myocardial fibrosis, inhibiting oxidative stress, and decreasing cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Objective This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of vital touch tissue quantification (VTQ) and virtual touch tissue imaging quantification (VTIQ) in diagnosing infants with biliary atresia (BA) from jaundiced infants. Methods In this study, 26 jaundiced infants with BA, 33 jaundiced infants without BA, and 40 normal infants were enrolled. The hepatic shear wave velocity (SWV) of each infant was determined by VTQ and VTIQ examinations, respectively. Then, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn and the area under the curve (AUC) and optimal cut‐off values were calculated to evaluate the sensitivities and specificities of VTIQ and VTQ for BA. Results The mean values of SWV of the control group measured by VTQ and VTIQ were (1.09 ± 0.18) m/s and (1.36 ± 0.21) m/s, respectively. The mean values of SWV of the non‐BA group measured by VTQ and VTIQ were (1.30 ± 0.28) m/s and (1.52 ± 0.29) m/s, respectively. The mean values of SWV of the BA group measured by VTQ and VTIQ were (2.36 ± 0.36) m/s and (2.43 ± 0.29) m/s, respectively. The diagnostic threshold of VTQ and VTIQ to diagnose BA was 1.77 and 1.92 m/s. The sensitivities of VTQ and VTIQ to diagnose BA were 90.9% and 95.5%. The specificities of VTQ and VTIQ to diagnose BA were 68.4% and 78.9%. Conclusion Vital touch tissue quantification and VTIQ could help distinguish infants with BA from jaundiced infants by measuring the liver SWV values. VTIQ has higher sensitivity and specificity than VTQ.

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The ultrasonographic findings of foetal cystic lesions in the adrenal gland and the change they undergo after birth may provide valuable information for clinical diagnosis.

Three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D-STE) was used to evaluate the improvement of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion on the left ventricular (LV) systolic function of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitu (T2DM). We recruited T2DM patients (38 cases, diabetic group) and healthy volunteers (35 cases, control group) to collect LV full volume imaging. TomTec software was used for calculating LV global longitudinal strain (LVGLS), global circumferential strain (LVGCS), peak twist (LVTW), peak apical rotation (LVPAR), ejection fraction (LVEF), and torsion (LVT). All indices were re-tested 2 weeks later after intensive treatment of insulin pump. LVGLS, LVGCS, LVTW and LVPAR in diabetic group were significantly decreased than control group. LVGLS and LVGCS in pre-treatment diabetic group were significantly increased than post-treatment. LVGLS, LVGCS, LVTW and LVPAR had correlations among control, pre-treatment and post-treatment diabetic groups. There were no significant differences in LVEDV, LVESV, LVEF, LVT and R-R. LV systolic function of patients with T2DM complicated with microangiopathy was improved after treatment of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion. In addition, therapeutic effect could be accurately evaluated by 3D-STE which had vital clinical application.

By using an organic framework to fabricate functional biomaterials, novel design and advanced biomedical applications of polymeric microbubbles for in vivo targeting and disease-oriented imaging of tumor vascularization can be developed. The present study describes novel synthetic protocols to fabricate RGD (Arginine-Glycine-Aspartic)-tagged αvβ3-targeted ultrasound microbubbles. The microbubbles were synthesized by emulsion polymerization techniques. Two types of microbubbles (MBs-1 and MBs-2) were obtained via biotin-streptavidin conjugation to poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) microbubbles (MBs-0) obtained by one-step synthesis in reverse order. The size distributions and surface zeta potentials were characterized. The results showed that the sizes of the MBs-2 were larger than that those of the MBs-1, and the MBs-2 showed decreased charge compared to MBs-1. In cell targeting studies, MBs-2 exhibited relatively stronger targeting affinity for αvβ3 integrins, while MBs-1 showed weaker targeting capability. Furthermore, in vivo mice imaging using MBs-2 for intravenous injection exhibited an obvious and sustained signal increase, which revealed the accumulative of MBs-2 anchoring in tumor. Hence, MBs-2 have been proven to be a promising candidate for using as ultrasound contrast agents for the early diagnosis of αvβ3-overexpressing malignant tumors, including breast cancer.

Microbubbles as traditional ultrasound contrast agents have seen tremendous developments and bio-applications in the past decades. Due to their outstanding performance, advanced microbubbles as a multifunctional platform combining both imaging and therapy have been increasingly attracting attention. Associated with ultrasound-mediated stimuli, targeting drug transportation with high precision can be established and, as a consequence, a synergistic treatment strategy may prevail, which implies a bright perspective for this brand-new technology. This perspective article will summarize the latest developments on the advanced microbubbles, and review their emerging biomedical applications for the vast community of both applied ultrasound and functional ultrasound-based materials.

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