Imaging E-selectin expression following traumatic brain injury in the rat using a targeted USPIO contrast agent
Catherine Chapon1, Florence Franconi, Franck Lacoeuille
1INSERM U 646, Ingénierie de la Vectorisation Particulaire, 10 rue André Boquel, Angers, France.
Introduction:
The aim of this work was to map E-selectin expression in a traumatic brain injury model using a newly-designed MR contrast agent. Iron cores, responsible for susceptibility effects and therefore used as T2* contrast agents, need to be coated in order to be stabilized and need to be targeted to be useful.
Methods:
We have designed a molecule coating composed, at one end, of bisphosphonate to ensure anchorage of the coating on the iron core and, at the other end, of Fukuda's defined heptapeptide known to target selectin binding sites.
Conclusion:
The synthesized nanoparticles were able to non-invasively target the traumatic brain lesion, inducing a specific T2* decrease of about 25% up to at least 70 min post-injection of the targeted contrast agent.
