Ex Vivo and in Vivo MR Imaging of Ischemia Reperfusion Injury in Mouse Hearts Using Microparticles of Iron Oxide Targeting VCAM-1

Erica Dall'Armellina¹, Craig A. Lygate¹, Martina McAteer¹, Steffen Bohl¹, Lee-Anne Stork¹, Stefan Neubauer¹, Robin P. Choudhury¹, Jurgen E. Schneider¹

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is an important cause of tissue damage in vascular syndromes of the heart, but sensitive markers of early inflammation in reversible myocardial injury are lacking. Our study demonstrates that antibody-conjugated microparticles of iron oxide (MPIO) targeting VCAM-1 enable molecular MR imaging of endothelial activation in murine IR hearts.