Identification of Vulnerable Plaque by MRI & Fluorescence Imaging in a Rabbit Model

Ning Hua¹, Fred Baik², Tuan Pham¹, Nick Giordano¹, Alkystis Phinikaridou¹, Michael Whitney², Quyen Nguyen², Roger Tsien², James Hamilton¹

Although atherosclerotic plaques frequently remain asymptomatic, sudden disruption of vulnerable plaques(VP) and subsequent thrombosis can be fatal in humans. As part of our research efforts to identify vulnerable plaques prior to acute events, we have combined in vivo MRI and ex vivo optical imaging in a rabbit model of atherothrombosis. Vulnerable features (positive remodeling from in vivo MRI and histology) showed significantly higher uptake of fluorescence probes targeting matrix metalloproteinase (MMP2/9) and thrombin as assessed by ex vivo optical imaging. This is the first validation of a targeted probe for detecting VP in an animal model of controlled plaque disruption.