title: Imaging of injured and atherosclerotic arteries in mice using fluorescence-labeled glycoprotein VI-Fc.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess endothelial injury and repair using fluorescence-labeled glycoprotein VI (GPVI)-Fc in a murine model.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three 4-week-old male ApoE-deficient (ApoE(-/-))-mice were fed with a 1.25% cholesterol diet over 16 weeks and compared to three wild type (WT) C57BL/6J-mice in a wire-induced vascular injury model. Another group of WT mice (n=10) were mechanically injured by carotid ligation. Fluorescence-labeled GPVI-Fc (150 μg/mouse) was administered and assessed by optical imaging 24h after injury and compared to another group (n=3) which was injected two days after injury and sacrificed another day later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After denudation, all injured carotids of WT mice showed a higher mean fluorescence signal than the corresponding intact carotids of the same animals (48.4 ± 18.9 vs. 10.4 ± 1.0; P=0.028). Injection of unlabeled GPVI-Fc 20 h and 3h before injecting GPVI-Fc-FITC significantly reduced the fluorescence signal in injured carotids to 14.6 ± 4.6, while intact carotids showed a signal of 9.2 ± 1.1; P=0.046. Ligation injury resulted with an increased GPVI-Fc-binding to injured carotids compared to intact carotids (31.53 ± 6.18 vs. 16.48 ± 5.15; P=0.039). Three days after injury and 24h after GPVI-Fc-FITC injection, differences between intact and injured carotids have vanished (12.51 ± 2.76 vs. 14.76 ± 1.59; P=0.519).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A GPVI-based plaque imaging system could help to identify vascular lesions and to take a precautionary measure as necessary.
authors.affiliation: Medizinische Klinik III, Kardiologie und Kreislauferkrankungen, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany. boris.bigalke@med.uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bigalke
authors.forename: Ilka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pohlmeyer
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schönberger
authors.forename: Christoph M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Griessinger
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ungerer
authors.forename: Rene M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Botnar
authors.forename: Bernd J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Pichler
authors.forename: Meinrad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gawaz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000172:deficiency; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020212:Carotid Artery Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000293:injuries; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D008026:Ligation; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010980:Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins
chemical_list: D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D010980:Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins; C098341:platelet membrane glycoprotein VI; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate