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Desai M, Slusarczyk AL, Chapin A, Barch M, Jasanoff A. Molecular imaging with engineered physiology. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13607. [PMID: 27910951 PMCID: PMC5146284 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In vivo imaging techniques are powerful tools for evaluating biological systems. Relating image signals to precise molecular phenomena can be challenging, however, due to limitations of the existing optical, magnetic and radioactive imaging probe mechanisms. Here we demonstrate a concept for molecular imaging which bypasses the need for conventional imaging agents by perturbing the endogenous multimodal contrast provided by the vasculature. Variants of the calcitonin gene-related peptide artificially activate vasodilation pathways in rat brain and induce contrast changes that are readily measured by optical and magnetic resonance imaging. CGRP-based agents induce effects at nanomolar concentrations in deep tissue and can be engineered into switchable analyte-dependent forms and genetically encoded reporters suitable for molecular imaging or cell tracking. Such artificially engineered physiological changes, therefore, provide a highly versatile means for sensitive analysis of molecular events in living organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitul Desai
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Adrian L. Slusarczyk
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Ashley Chapin
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Mariya Barch
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Alan Jasanoff
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- Department of Nuclear Science & Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 16-561, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
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