Abstract
Purpose: A sensitive and specific imaging method to detect metastatic cancer cells in lymph nodes (LNs) to detect the early-stage breast cancer is urgently needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate a novel breast cancer-targeting and tumour microenvironment ATP-responsive superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIOs) imaging probe that was developed to detect lymph node metastasis (LNMs) through fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI) and magnetic particle imaging (MPI). The imaging nanoprobe comprised of SPIOs conjugated with breast cancer-targeting peptides (CREKA) and an ATP-responsive DNA aptamer (dsDNA-Cy5.5), abbreviated as SPIOs@A-T. Methods: SPIOs@A-T was synthesised and characterized for its imaging properties, targeting ability and toxicity in vitro. Mice with metastatic lymph node (MLN) of breast cancer were established to evaluate the FMI and MPI imaging strategy in vivo. Healthy mice with normal lymph node (NLN) were used as control group. Histological examination and biosafety evaluation were performed for further assessment. Results: After injection with SPIO@A-T, the obvious high fluorescent intensity and MPI signal were observed in MLN group than those in NLN group. MPI could also complement the limitation of imaging depth from FMI, thus could detect MLN more sensitively. The combination of the imaging strengths of FMI and MPI ensured the detection of breast cancer metastases with high sensitivity and specificity, thereby facilitating the precision differentiation of malignant from benign LNs. Besides, the biosafety evaluation results showed SPIO@A-T had good biocompatibility. Conclusion: Due to the superior properties of tumour-targeting, detection specificity, and biosafety, the SPIOs@A-T imaging probe in combination with FMI and MPI can provide a promising novel method for the early and precise detection of LNMs in clinical practice.
Breast Cancer Targeting through Inhibition of the Endoplasmic Reticulum-Based Apoptosis Regulator Nrh/BCL2L10
