In-vivo tumor imaging using a novel RNAi-based detection mechanism
Menée sur un modèle murin, cette étude évalue la faisabilité d'une technique d'imagerie in vivo des tumeurs mettant en oeuvre des sondes fluorescentes à base d'ARNs interférents
A new concept of tumor imaging is introduced using a siRNA-based probe that is capable of amplifying a specific endogenous fluorescence emission within cancerous tissue. In previous studies, we have demonstrated a significant down regulation of Ferrochelatase (FECH) mRNA-expression in colorectal carcinomas leading to the accumulation of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), a fluorescent metabolite of the heme synthesis. Here, we report on first in-vivo experiments in xenografted nude mice using folate-coupled liposomes or dendritic polyglycerolamine nanoparticles carrying ferrochelatase-siRNA in order to enhance PpIX-derived fluorescence within the tumor tissue. Tiny tumor foci could be monitored by the emission of PpIX fluorescence in vivo. Due to the omnipresence of the heme synthesis pathway, targeted application of ferrochelatase-siRNA may provide a general means for molecular imaging.
Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine , résumé, 2011