Marlies Oostendorp1, Kim Douma1,
Allard Wagenaar1, Jos MGM Slenter1, Tilman M. Hackeng1,
Marc AMJ van Zandvoort1, Mark J. Post1, Walter H.
Backes1
1Maastricht University Medical Centre
(MUMC+), Maastricht, Netherlands
Here,
a molecular MRI method is presented to non-invasively image angiogenic
activity in vivo in a murine model of myocardial infarction using cyclic
cNGR-labeled paramagnetic quantum dots (pQDs). The tripeptide cNGR homes
specifically to CD13, an aminopeptidase that is strongly upregulated during
myocardial angiogenesis. cNGR-QDs allowed specific detection of post-infarction
myocardial angiogenesis, as shown by the strong contrast observed in the
infarcted mouse heart on molecular MRI, and by the colocalization of
cNGR-pQDs with vascular endothelial cells as detected by fluorescence
microscopy.