Purpose: To evaluate the potential of targeted photoacoustic imaging as a noninvasive method for detection of follicular thyroid carcinoma.Experimental Design: We determined the presence and activity of two members of matrix metalloproteinase family (MMP), MMP-2 and MMP-9, suggested as biomarkers for malignant thyroid lesions, in FTC133 thyroid tumors subcutaneously implanted in nude mice. The imaging agent used to visualize tumors was MMP-activatable photoacoustic probe, Alexa750-CXeeeeXPLGLAGrrrrrXK-BHQ3. Cleavage of the MMP-activatable agent was imaged after intratumoral and intravenous injections in living mice optically, observing the increase in Alexa750 fluorescence, and photoacoustically, using a dual-wavelength imaging method.Results: Active forms of both MMP-2 and MMP-9 enzymes were found in FTC133 tumor homogenates, with MMP-9 detected in greater amounts. The molecular imaging agent was determined to be activated by both enzymes in vitro, with MMP-9 being more efficient in this regard. Both optical and photoacoustic imaging showed significantly higher signal in tumors of mice injected with the active agent than in tumors injected with the control, nonactivatable, agent.Conclusions: With the combination of high spatial resolution and signal specificity, targeted photoacoustic imaging holds great promise as a noninvasive method for early diagnosis of follicular thyroid carcinomas.
Adoptive immunotherapy is evolving to assume an increasing role in treating cancer. Most imaging studies in adoptive immunotherapy to date have focused primarily on locating tumor-specific T cells rather than understanding their effector functions. In this study, we report the development of a noninvasive imaging strategy to monitor T-cell activation in living subjects by linking a reporter gene to the Granzyme B promoter (pGB), whose transcriptional activity is known to increase during T-cell activation. Because pGB is relatively weak and does not lead to sufficient reporter gene expression for noninvasive imaging, we specifically employed 2 signal amplification strategies, namely the Two Step Transcription Amplification (TSTA) strategy and the cytomegalovirus enhancer (CMVe) strategy, to maximize firefly luciferase reporter gene expression. Although both amplification strategies were capable of increasing pGB activity in activated primary murine splenocytes, only the level of bioluminescence activity achieved with the CMVe strategy was adequate for noninvasive imaging in mice. Using T cells transduced with a reporter vector containing the hybrid pGB-CMVe promoter, we were able to optically image T-cell effector function longitudinally in response to tumor antigens in living mice. This methodology has the potential to accelerate the study of adoptive immunotherapy in preclinical cancer models.
Cadaveric tendon allografts form a readily available and underutilized source of graft material. Because of their material properties, allografts are biomechanically and biologically superior to synthetic scaffolds. However, before clinical use, allografts must undergo decellularization to reduce immunogenicity and oxidation to increase porosity, leaving a nonvital biostatic scaffold. Ex vivo seeding, or revitalization, is thought to hasten graft incorporation and stimulate intrinsic tendon healing, permitting early mobilization and return to function. In this study, we examined physical and biochemical augmentation methods, including scaffold surface scoring (physical) and rehydration of lyophilized scaffolds in serum (biochemical). Scaffolds were divided into four groups: (1) scored scaffolds, (2) lyophilized scaffolds rehydrated in fetal calf serum (FCS), (3) scaffolds both scored and rehydrated in FCS, and (4) control scaffolds. Scaffolds were reseeded with adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs). Reseeding efficacy was quantified by a live cell and total cell assays and qualified histologically with hematoxylin and eosin, live/dead and SYTO green nucleic acid stains, TUNEL apoptosis stains, procollagen stains, and transmission electron microscopy. Scaffold-seeded cell viability at up to 2 weeks in vitro and up to 4 weeks in vivo was demonstrated with bioluminescent imaging of scaffolds seeded with luciferase-positive ADSCs. The effect of seeding on scaffold biomechanical properties was demonstrated with evaluation of ultimate tensile stress (UTS) and an elastic modulus (EM). We found that scaffold surface scoring led to an increase in live and total cell attachment and penetration (MTS assay, p<0.001 and DNA assay, p=0.003, respectively). Histology confirmed greater total cell number in both construct core and surface in scored compared with unscored constructs. Cells reseeded on scored constructs displayed reduced apoptosis, persistent procollagen production, and had a similar ultrastructural relationship to the surrounding matrix as native tenocytes on transmission electron microscopy. Rehydration of lyophilized scaffolds in serum did not improve reseeding. Seeded constructs demonstrated greater UTS and EM than unseeded constructs. Scaffolds seeded with ADSC-luc2-eGFP demonstrated persistent viability for at least 2 weeks in vitro. In conclusion, tendon surface scoring increases surface and core reseeding in vitro and may be incorporated as a final step in allograft processing before clinical implantation.
As a result of therapy-induced apoptosis, peripheral blood monocytes are recruited to tumors, where they become tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). To date, few studies have investigated noninvasive molecular imaging for assessment of macrophage infiltration in response to therapy-induced apoptosis. Here, noninvasive assessment of changes in tumor accumulation of TAMs was proposed as a new way to measure early tumor response to anticancer therapy. Three different nanoparticles, QD710-Dendron quantum dots (QD710-D), Ferumoxytol, and PG-Gd-NIR813, were used for near-infrared fluorescence imaging, T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, and dual optical/T1-weighted MR imaging, respectively, in the MDA-MB-435 tumor model. Treatment with Abraxane induced tumor apoptosis and infiltrating macrophages. In spite of markedly different physicochemical properties among the nanoparticles, in vivo imaging revealed increased uptake of all three nanoparticles in Abraxane-treated tumors compared with untreated tumors. Moreover, imaging visualized increased uptake of QD710-D in MDA-MB-435 tumors but not in drug-resistant MDA-MB-435R tumors grown in the mice treated with Abraxane. Our results suggest that infiltration of macrophages due to chemotherapy-induced apoptosis was partially responsible for increased nanoparticle uptake in treated tumors. Noninvasive imaging techniques in conjunction with systemic administration of imageable nanoparticles that are taken up by macrophages are a potentially useful tool for assessing early treatment response.
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