Imaging of Endometriotic Lesions Using cRGD-MN Probe in a Mouse Model of Endometriosis

Nazanin Talebloo, Maria Ariadna Ochoa-Bernal, Elizabeth Kenyon, Christiane L Mallett, Sujan Kumar Mondal, Asgerally T. Fazleabas, Asgerally Fazleabas, Anna Moore
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024 · vol. 14(3) , pp. 319 · doi:10.3390/nano14030319 · PMID:38334590 · W4391556604
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 3 in-corpus citations
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This study developed and evaluated cRGD-peptide-conjugated nanoparticles for MRI detection of endometriotic lesions in mice, showing targeted accumulation and increased iron content within lesions.

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Abstract

Approximately 10% of women suffer from endometriosis during their reproductive years. This disease is a chronic debilitating condition whose etiology for lesion implantation and survival heavily relies on adhesion and angiogenic factors. Currently, there are no clinically approved agents for its detection. In this study, we evaluated cRGD-peptide-conjugated nanoparticles (RGD-Cy5.5-MN) to detect lesions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a mouse model of endometriosis. We utilized a luciferase-expressing murine suture model of endometriosis. Imaging was performed before and after 24 h following the intravenous injection of RGD-Cy5.5-MN or control nanoparticles (Cy5.5-MN). Next, we performed biodistribution of RGD-Cy5.5-MN and correlative fluorescence microscopy of lesions stained for CD34. Tissue iron content was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Our results demonstrated that targeting endometriotic lesions with RGD-Cy5.5-MN resulted in a significantly higher delta T2* upon its accumulation compared to Cy5.5-MN. ICP-OES showed significantly higher iron content in the lesions of the animals in the experimental group compared to the lesions of the animals in the control group. Histology showed colocalization of Cy5.5 signal from RGD-Cy5.5-MN with CD34 in the lesions pointing to the targeted nature of the probe. This work offers initial proof-of-concept for targeting angiogenesis in endometriosis which can be useful for potential clinical diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for treating this disease.

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endometriosis

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Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

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