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Kosareva A, Punjabi M, Ochoa-Espinosa A, Xu L, Schaefer JV, Dreier B, Plückthun A, Kaufmann BA. Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins as Novel Binders for Ultrasound Molecular Imaging. Ultrasound Med Biol 2021; 47:2664-2675. [PMID: 34144832 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2021.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Clinical translation of ultrasound molecular imaging will depend on the development of binders that can easily be generated, manufactured and coupled, and that are compatible with in vivo use. We describe targeted microbubbles (MBs) using designed ankyrin repeat proteins (DARPins) as a novel class of such translatable binders. Candidate DARPin binders for vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, an endothelial cell adhesion molecule involved in inflammatory processes, were selected using ribosome display and coupled to MBs. Flow-chamber assays of five MBs carrying high-affinity binders showed selective retention on endothelial cells activated by tumor necrosis factor-α for two binders compared with a MB carrying a control DARPin. In vivo ultrasound molecular imaging in a murine hind-limb inflammation model demonstrated up to a fourfold signal enhancement for three of the five MBs versus control. However, there was no correlation between results from flow-chamber assays and in vivo imaging. Thus, we conclude that ultrasound molecular imaging of inflammation using DARPin binders is feasible per se, but that screening of candidates cannot be accomplished with flow-chamber assays as used in our study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Kosareva
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Mukesh Punjabi
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Amanda Ochoa-Espinosa
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lifen Xu
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jonas V Schaefer
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Birgit Dreier
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Plückthun
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Beat A Kaufmann
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Cardiology, University Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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Kosareva A, Nagnibeda E, Savelev A. New multi-temperature reaction models for CO2 containing mixtures and their applications. Chem Phys 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2020.110718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Kosareva A, Abou-Elkacem L, Chowdhury S, Lindner JR, Kaufmann BA. Seeing the Invisible-Ultrasound Molecular Imaging. Ultrasound Med Biol 2020; 46:479-497. [PMID: 31899040 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2019] [Revised: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Ultrasound molecular imaging has been developed in the past two decades with the goal of non-invasively imaging disease phenotypes on a cellular level not depicted on anatomic imaging. Such techniques already play a role in pre-clinical research for the assessment of disease mechanisms and drug effects, and are thought to in the future contribute to earlier diagnosis of disease, assessment of therapeutic effects and patient-tailored therapy in the clinical field. In this review, we first describe the chemical composition and structure as well as the in vivo behavior of the ultrasound contrast agents that have been developed for molecular imaging. We then discuss the strategies that are used for targeting of contrast agents to specific cellular targets and protocols used for imaging. Next we describe pre-clinical data on imaging of thrombosis, atherosclerosis and microvascular inflammation and in oncology, including the pathophysiological principles underlying the selection of targets in each area. Where applicable, we also discuss efforts that are currently underway for translation of this technique into the clinical arena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Kosareva
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Lotfi Abou-Elkacem
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Sayan Chowdhury
- Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jonathan R Lindner
- Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Portland, Oregon, USA; Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
| | - Beat A Kaufmann
- Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Cardiology, University Hospital and University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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Punjabi M, Xu L, Ochoa-Espinosa A, Kosareva A, Wolff T, Murtaja A, Broisat A, Devoogdt N, Kaufmann BA. Ultrasound Molecular Imaging of Atherosclerosis With Nanobodies: Translatable Microbubble Targeting Murine and Human VCAM (Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule) 1. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2019; 39:2520-2530. [PMID: 31597443 DOI: 10.1161/atvbaha.119.313088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Contrast-enhanced ultrasound molecular imaging (CEUMI) of endothelial expression of VCAM (vascular cell adhesion molecule)-1 could improve risk stratification for atherosclerosis. The microbubble contrast agents developed for preclinical studies are not suitable for clinical translation. Our aim was to characterize and validate a microbubble contrast agent using a clinically translatable single-variable domain immunoglobulin (nanobody) ligand. Approach and Results: Microbubble with a nanobody targeting VCAM-1 (MBcAbVcam1-5) and microbubble with a control nanobody (MBVHH2E7) were prepared and characterized in vitro. Attachment efficiency to VCAM-1 under continuous and pulsatile flow was investigated using activated murine endothelial cells. In vivo CEUMI of the aorta was performed in atherosclerotic double knockout and wild-type mice after injection of MBcAbVcam1-5 and MBVHH2E7. Ex vivo CEUMI of human endarterectomy specimens was performed in a closed-loop circulation model. The surface density of the nanobody ligand was 3.5×105 per microbubble. Compared with MBVHH2E7, MBcAbVcam1-5 showed increased attachment under continuous flow with increasing shear stress of 1-8 dynes/cm2 while under pulsatile flow attachment occurred at higher shear stress. CEUMI in double knockout mice showed signal enhancement for MBcAbVcam1-5 in early (P=0.0003 versus MBVHH2E7) and late atherosclerosis (P=0.007 versus MBVHH2E7); in wild-type mice, there were no differences between MBcAbVcam1-5 and MBVHH2E7. CEUMI in human endarterectomy specimens showed a 100% increase in signal for MBcAbVcam1-5versus MBVHH2E7 (20.6±27.7 versus 9.6±14.7, P=0.0156). CONCLUSIONS CEUMI of the expression of VCAM-1 is feasible in murine models of atherosclerosis and on human tissue using a clinically translatable microbubble bearing a VCAM-1 targeted nanobody.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukesh Punjabi
- From the Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Switzerland (M.P., L.X., A.O.-E., A.K., B.A.K.)
| | - Lifen Xu
- From the Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Switzerland (M.P., L.X., A.O.-E., A.K., B.A.K.)
| | - Amanda Ochoa-Espinosa
- From the Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Switzerland (M.P., L.X., A.O.-E., A.K., B.A.K.)
| | - Alexandra Kosareva
- From the Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Switzerland (M.P., L.X., A.O.-E., A.K., B.A.K.)
| | - Thomas Wolff
- Department of Vascular Surgery (T.W., A.M.), University Hospital and University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ahmed Murtaja
- Department of Vascular Surgery (T.W., A.M.), University Hospital and University of Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alexis Broisat
- University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1039, LRB, France (A.B.)
| | - Nick Devoogdt
- In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium (N.D.)
| | - Beat A Kaufmann
- From the Cardiovascular Molecular Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Switzerland (M.P., L.X., A.O.-E., A.K., B.A.K.).,Department of Cardiology (B.A.K.), University Hospital and University of Basel, Switzerland
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