BACKGROUND Non-invasive methods to diagnose non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),an inflammatory subtype of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),are currently unavailable.AIM To develop an integrinαvβ3-targeted m...BACKGROUND Non-invasive methods to diagnose non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),an inflammatory subtype of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),are currently unavailable.AIM To develop an integrinαvβ3-targeted molecular imaging modality to differentiate NASH.METHODS Integrinαvβ3 expression was assessed in Human LO2 hepatocytes Scultured with palmitic and oleic acids(FFA).Hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression was analyzed in rabbits fed a high-fat diet(HFD)and in rats fed a high-fat,high-carbohydrate diet(HFCD).After synthesis,cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptide(cRGD)was labeled with gadolinium(Gd)and used as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)performed on mice fed with HFCD.RESULTS Integrinαvβ3 was markedly expressed on FFA-cultured hepatocytes,unlike the control hepatocytes.Hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression significantly increased in both HFD-fed rabbits and HFCD-fed rats as simple fatty liver(FL)progressed to steatohepatitis.The distribution of integrinαvβ3 in the liver of NASH cases largely overlapped with albumin-positive staining areas.In comparison to mice with simple FL,the relative liver MRI-T1 signal value at 60 minutes post-injection of Gd-labeled cRGD was significantly increased in mice with steatohepatitis(P<0.05),showing a positive correlation with the NAFLD activity score(r=0.945;P<0.01).Hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression was significantly upregulated during NASH development,with hepatocytes being the primary cells expressing integrinαvβ3.CONCLUSION After using Gd-labeled cRGD as a tracer,NASH was successfully distinguished by visualizing hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression with MRI.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81670513and Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81900511。
文摘BACKGROUND Non-invasive methods to diagnose non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),an inflammatory subtype of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),are currently unavailable.AIM To develop an integrinαvβ3-targeted molecular imaging modality to differentiate NASH.METHODS Integrinαvβ3 expression was assessed in Human LO2 hepatocytes Scultured with palmitic and oleic acids(FFA).Hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression was analyzed in rabbits fed a high-fat diet(HFD)and in rats fed a high-fat,high-carbohydrate diet(HFCD).After synthesis,cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptide(cRGD)was labeled with gadolinium(Gd)and used as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)performed on mice fed with HFCD.RESULTS Integrinαvβ3 was markedly expressed on FFA-cultured hepatocytes,unlike the control hepatocytes.Hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression significantly increased in both HFD-fed rabbits and HFCD-fed rats as simple fatty liver(FL)progressed to steatohepatitis.The distribution of integrinαvβ3 in the liver of NASH cases largely overlapped with albumin-positive staining areas.In comparison to mice with simple FL,the relative liver MRI-T1 signal value at 60 minutes post-injection of Gd-labeled cRGD was significantly increased in mice with steatohepatitis(P<0.05),showing a positive correlation with the NAFLD activity score(r=0.945;P<0.01).Hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression was significantly upregulated during NASH development,with hepatocytes being the primary cells expressing integrinαvβ3.CONCLUSION After using Gd-labeled cRGD as a tracer,NASH was successfully distinguished by visualizing hepatic integrinαvβ3 expression with MRI.