Targeted imaging of orthotopic prostate cancer by using clinical transformable photoacoustic molecular probe

• Published in: BMC cancer 2020-05, Vol.20 (1), p.419-419, Article 419
• Main Authors: Qiu, Chen, Bai, Yuanyuan, Yin, Tinghui, Miao, Xiaoyan, Gao, Rongkang, Zhou, Huichao, Ren, Jie, Song, Liang, Liu, Chengbo, Zheng, Hairong, Zheng, Rongqin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Angiogenesis; Animal models; Animals; Apoptosis; Biological products; Biopsy; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell culture; Cell growth; Cell Proliferation; Comparative analysis; Confocal microscopy; Diagnosis; FDA approval; Image-Guided Biopsy - methods; Imaging systems; Injection; Integrins; Intravenous administration; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Metastasis; Molecular Imaging - methods; Molecular Probes - chemistry; Peptides; Photoacoustic Techniques - methods; Prostate cancer; Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Prostatic Neoplasms - pathology; Rats, Nude; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Ultrasound; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
• ISSN: 1471-2407; 1471-2407
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-020-06801-9

To obtain high-yield histological samples by targeted prostate cancer (PCa) biopsy is the current trend compared with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided systematic histological biopsy, which is regarded as the gold standard for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. In this paper, we present a targeted PCa imaging strategy using a real-time molecular photoacoustic imaging system integrated with a handheld US probe (PAI/US) and synthesized an integrin α β targeted probe based on ICG (cRGD-ICG). To prepare cRGD-ICG, ICG-NHS was linked to cRGD through carboxyl-co-reaction. In vitro PA imaging ability of cRGD-ICG was tested. Orthotopic PCa-bearing rats were used as animal models. After injected with either cRGD-ICG or non-targeted probe, rats were implemented with PA imaging to confirm the specific accumulation of cRGD-ICG at tumor region. Moreover, pathological frozen slices were made to observe distribution of the probe in prostate tissue ex vivo. A small molecular PAI probe was synthesized and exhibited excellent targeted imaging ability in vitro. In vivo photoacoustic imaging was carried out after intravenous injection of cRGD-ICG in orthotopic PCa-bearing rats under the facilitation of the PAI/US system. Maximum molecular photoacoustic signals were observed in the tumor area in vivo after the probe injection, which showed 3.8-fold higher signal enhancement than that in the control group (P