Characterization of MR Contrast Enhancement in Murine Advanced Atherosclerotic Plaque After Administration of 24p3 (NGAL)-Targeted Micelles.

Bernard C. te Boekhorst¹, Sandra M. Bovens¹, Krista den Ouden¹, Marcel G. Nederhoff¹, Kees W. van de Kolk¹, Maarten J. Cramer¹, Michiel ten Hove¹, Pieter Doevendans¹, Robert E. Poelmann², Gerard Pasterkamp¹, Cornelis J. van Echteld¹

Human neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) has been shown to be upregulated in carotid atherosclerotic plaques and stabilizes matrix metalloproteinases, which are an important hallmark of advanced atherosclerosis. MRI of atherosclerotic vessels before and after administration of gadolinium-containing NGAL-targeted contrast agents could help distinguish stable from unstable plaque phenotypes. We report the characterization of plaque dynamics of 24p3 (mouse homologue of NGAL)-targeted micelles. 24p3-targeted micelles led to the highest normalized enhancement ratio (NER) (2.65) at 72 hours after administration, while the non-conjugated and isotype-conjugated micelles showed the highest NER at 24 hours after administration (respectively 2.22 and 1.37).