Bernard C. te Boekhorst1, Sandra M. Bovens1, Krista den Ouden1, Marcel G. Nederhoff1, Kees W. van de Kolk1, Maarten J. Cramer1, Michiel ten Hove1, Pieter Doevendans1, Robert E. Poelmann2, Gerard Pasterkamp1, Cornelis J. van Echteld1
1Dept. of Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden Universitair Medisch Centrum, Leiden, Netherlands
Human neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been shown to be upregulated in carotid atherosclerotic plaques and stabilizes matrix metalloproteinases, which are an important hallmark of advanced atherosclerosis. MRI of atherosclerotic vessels before and after administration of gadolinium-containing NGAL-targeted contrast agents could help distinguish stable from unstable plaque phenotypes. We report the characterization of plaque dynamics of 24p3 (mouse homologue of NGAL)-targeted micelles. 24p3-targeted micelles led to the highest normalized enhancement ratio (NER) (2.65) at 72 hours after administration, while the non-conjugated and isotype-conjugated micelles showed the highest NER at 24 hours after administration (respectively 2.22 and 1.37).