Abstract
Macrophages have long been recognized as a prominent component of tumors. Activated macrophages overexpress folate receptors and we used this phenomenon to image inflammatory reactions in colon dysplasia using a fluorescent folate probe (FFP). APC Δ468 mice injected with FFP showed fluorescent adenomas (target-to-background ratio, adenoma vs. adjacent normal mucosa, of 2.46 ± 0.41), significantly higher (p < .001) than adenomas in animals injected with a non-folate-containing control probe. Fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis revealed a 3-fold higher content of Mac1-positive cells in colonic adenomas compared with normal adjacent mucosa (6.8% vs. 2.2%), and confirmed the source of FFP-positive cells to be primarily an F4/80-positive macrophage subpopulation. Taken together, these results indicate that FFP potentially can be used to image dysplastic intestinal adenomas in vivo.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 67-74 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Molecular Imaging |
Volume | 4 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 2005 |
Keywords
- Adenoma
- Colon cancer
- Dysplasia
- Folate receptor
- Imaging
- Macrophage
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Molecular Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Condensed Matter Physics