title: A macrophage-specific fluorescent probe for intraoperative lymph node staging.
abstract: Successful identification of nodal metastases in patients with cancer is crucial to prescribe suitable treatment regimens that can improve recurrence-free survival. Although some new imaging technologies for nodal staging have been developed, such as nanoparticle-enhanced MRI and quantum-dot-based fluorescence imaging, sound technologies for intraoperative differentiation of metastatic and inflamed lymph nodes remain lacking. In this study, we illustrate the feasibility of using a macrophage-specific fluorescent probe (MFP) to visualize sentinel lymph nodes during surgery, highlighting abnormalities related to inflammation and tumor infiltration with signal enhancement and reduction methods using this technology. MFP was identified by high-throughput screening of fluorescent small-molecule libraries synthesized with a diversity-oriented approach. It selectively visualized monocyte and macrophage cell populations in vitro, by live-cell imaging and flow cytometry, as well as in vivo, for imaging-guided surgery. Collectively, this study provides preclinical proof of concept for an intraoperative imaging platform to accurately assess lymph node status, eliminating the need for invasive nodal dissections that can contribute to complications of cancer therapy.
authors: Authors' Affiliations: Department of Chemistry and MedChem Program of Life Sciences Institute, National University of Singapore; and Laboratory of Bioimaging Probe Development, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.
authors: Jung Sun
authors: JS
authors: Yoo
authors: Sung-Chan
authors: SC
authors: Lee
authors: Zhi Yen
authors: ZY
authors: Jow
authors: Pamela Yun Xiang
authors: PY
authors: Koh
authors: Young-Tae
authors: YT
authors: Chang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008264:Macrophages / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010641:Phenotype; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy / Q000379:methods*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D020298:U937 Cells
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes