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Molecular imaging of enzyme activity in vivo using activatable probes

激活型分子影像探针应用于活体检测酶活性的研究进展

Abstract

Precise measurement of enzyme activity in living systems with molecular imaging probes is becoming an important technique to unravel the functional roles of different enzymes in biological processes. Recent progress has been made in the development of a myriad of molecular imaging probes featuring different imaging modalities, including optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear imaging, and photoacoustic imaging, allowing for non-invasive detection of various enzyme activities in vivo with high sensitivity and high spatial resolution. Among these imaging probes, activatable or “smart” probes, whose imaging signal can be specifically switched from the “off” to “on” state upon interaction with a target enzyme, are particularly attractive due to their improved sensitivity and specificity. Here, recent advances in the development of activatable probes capable of imaging different enzyme activities in vivo are summarized based on different imaging modalities, and current challenges and future perspectives are discussed.

摘要

利用分子影像探针在活体上进行酶活性的无损、精确检测对研究酶的活性与功能具有重要意义。近年来,不同模态的分子影像探针,包括光学成像、核磁共振成像、核素成像和光声成像探针等被广泛报道,并成功应用于活体内高灵敏、高分辨的检测各种酶活性。本文主要综述了激活型分子影像探针及其在活体内可视化检测酶活性的研究进展,并讨论了这一研究领域目前面临的挑战和未来的发展方向。

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21505070, 21632008) and Natural Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150567).

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Correspondence to Deju Ye.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Yan, R., Ye, D. Molecular imaging of enzyme activity in vivo using activatable probes. Sci. Bull. 61, 1672–1679 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-016-1175-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-016-1175-y

Keywords

  • Activatable probe
  • Molecular imaging
  • Enzyme
  • In vivo
  • Fluorescence

关键词

  • 激活型探针
  • 分子成像分析
  • 活体
  • 荧光