Ingrid E. Chesnick1, Carol B. Fowler1,
Jeffrey T. Mason1, Kimberlee Potter1
1Department of Biophysics, Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology Annex, Rockville, MD, United States
The
ability to detect osteoclasts on the surface of bone will allow for the
development of more sensitive screening tools for monitoring changes in bone
metabolism, specifically bone resorption, in response to therapeutic
interventions. In this work, we demonstrate the sensitivity of
v3-targeted Gd-liposomes to detect low numbers of active osteoclasts in the presence of a
mixed population of bone marrow derived cells. Additionally, we present a
novel bisphosphonate MR constrast agent for selectively imaging the mineral
not subjected to resoption by active osteoclasts. Our approach promises to
transform in vivo bone resorption studies.