In real-time ultrasound,molecular targeted contrast agent is introduced into the blood circulation through peripheral intravenous injection to enhance the imaging signal of target lesions after binding to the corresponding intravascular receptors,which can realize early diagnosis,staging of diseases,assessment of treatment response,and targeted treatment.In addition,molecular targeted ultrasound contrast agents provide a platform for the delivery of drugs and genes via microbubbles,and nanoscale contrast agents can be infiltrated through vascular endothelium into the interstitial space of the lesion for imaging or treatment.The available studies of molecular targeted ultrasound contrast agents mainly focus on the preclinical trials.Some clinical trials have been conducted in humans and preliminarily confirm the safety and feasibility of targeted ultrasound contrast agents.The molecular targeted ultrasound contrast agents enjoy a broad prospect in clinical application.
Humans ; Contrast Media/chemistry* ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Ultrasonography/methods* ; Diagnostic Imaging

Gas vesicles (GVs) are gas-filled protein nanostructures that can regulate the buoyancy of microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and archaea. Recent studies have shown that GVs have the potential to be used as ultrasound molecular imaging probes in disease diagnosis and treatment. However, the mechanism of the inflation and deflation of GVs remains unclear, which hampers the preservation of GVs and gas replacement. In the present study, the environmental pH value was found to be an important factor in regulating the inflation and deflation of GVs. It can not only regulate the inflation and deflation of GVs in vivo to make Microcystis sp. cells present distinct levitation state, but also regulate the inflation and deflation of purified GVs in vitro, and the regulation process is reversible. Our results may provide a technical support for the large-scale production and preservation of biosynthetic ultrasound molecular imaging probes, especially for gas replacement to meet different diagnostic and therapeutic needs, and would facilitate the application of biosynthetic ultrasound molecular imaging probes.
Cyanobacteria ; Proteins/chemistry* ; Nanostructures/chemistry* ; Molecular Imaging ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration

Objective: To analyze the ultrasonic manifestations, clinical features, high risk factors and key points of pregnancy management in prenatal diagnosis of umbilical artery thrombosis (UAT). Methods: The data of 31 pregnant women of UAT diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography and confirmed after birth from July 2017 to July 2022 at the Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed, including the maternal characteristics, pregnancy outcomes and fetal complications. In addition, the baseline data and pregnancy outcomes were compared in 21 patients who continued pregnancy after diagnosis of UAT. Of the 21 UAT cases that continued pregnancy, 10 cases were treated with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH; LMWH treatment group), while the other 11 patients had expectant treatment(expectant treatment group). Results: The age of the 31 pregnant women was (30.2±4.7) years, of which 5 cases (16%,5/31) were advanced age pregnant women. The gestational age at diagnosis was (32.9±4.0) weeks, and the gestational age at termination of pregnancy was (35.6±2.9) weeks. In 31 fetuses with UAT, 15 cases (48%) had fetal distress, 11 cases (35%) had fetal growth restriction, and 3 cases (10%) had intrauterine stillbirth. There were 28 cases of live births, including 26 cases by cesarean section and 2 cases by vaginal delivery. There were also 3 stillbirths, all delivered vaginally. Four neonates had mild asphyxia and two newborns had severe asphyxia. Among the 31 cases, 10 cases were terminated immediately after diagnosis, the gestational age at diagnosis was (35.9±2.9) weeks. Another 21 pregnancies continued, and their gestational age at diagnosis was (31.4±3.7) weeks. The median prolonged gestational age in LMWH treatment group was 7.9 weeks (4.6-9.4 weeks), and all were live births. The median prolonged gestational age in the expectant treatment group was 0.6 weeks (0.0-1.0 weeks), and 2 cases were stillbirths. There was a statistically significant difference in prolonged gestational age (P=0.002). Conclusions: Ultrasound is the preferred method for prenatal detection of UAT. Clinicians need to be vigilant for UAT when a newly identified single umbilical artery is detected by ultrasound in the second or third trimesters. The decision to continue or terminate the pregnancy depends on the gestational age and the condition of fetus. Attention should be paid to fetal movements as the pregnancy continues. The treatment of LMWH as soon as possible after diagnosis of UAT may improve the pregnancy outcome.
Pregnancy ; Infant, Newborn ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Infant ; Stillbirth ; Cesarean Section ; Umbilical Arteries/diagnostic imaging* ; Asphyxia ; Retrospective Studies ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight/therapeutic use* ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Fetal Growth Retardation/therapy* ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal/methods* ; Gestational Age

Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Cardiovascular System ; Heart ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Imaging

Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Cardiovascular System ; Heart ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Imaging

BR55 is an ultrasound contrast agent targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2,which can be used to detect tumor neovascularization and improve the diagnostic accuracy.Overseas researchers have used BR55 for human ultrasound molecular imaging,which showed good safety and tolerance.We reviewed the research progress on BR55 applied in the evaluation of tumor neovascularization from the composition,characteristics,animal experiments,and clinical studies of BR55.
Animals ; Contrast Media ; Humans ; Microbubbles ; Molecular Imaging/methods* ; Neovascularization, Pathologic/diagnostic imaging* ; Ultrasonography/methods* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2/analysis*

Neuroendocrine tumors are a type of heterogeneous tumors originating from neuroendocrine cells derived from the neural crest，which can secrete a variety of amines and peptide hormones.Based on different molecular biomarkers，histologic types and differentiation degrees，individualized nuclear imaging can provide information for the early diagnosis，clinical staging，treatment guidance，and detection of the recurrence and metastasis of neuroendocrine tumor. In this paper，we review the development and application of nuclear medicine molecular imaging probes such as glucose analogs，somatostatin analogues，amine precursors，hormone analogs and enzyme inhibitors in the diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors.
Diagnostic Imaging ; Humans ; Molecular Probes ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neuroendocrine Tumors/diagnostic imaging* ; Radionuclide Imaging

Head and Neck Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Humans ; Molecular Imaging ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

OBJECTIVE: To select potential molecules that can target viral spike proteins, which may potentially interrupt the interaction between the human angiotension-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor and viral spike protein by virtual screening. METHODS: The three-dimensional (3D)-coordinate file of the receptor-binding domain (RBD)-ACE2 complex for searching a suitable docking pocket was firstly downloaded and prepared. Secondly, approximately 15,000 molecular candidates were prepared, including US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs from DrugBank and natural compounds from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP), for the docking process. Then, virtual screening was performed and the binding energy in Autodock Vina was calculated. Finally, the top 20 molecules with high binding energy and their Chinese medicine (CM) herb sources were listed in this paper. RESULTS: It was found that digitoxin, a cardiac glycoside in DrugBank and bisindigotin in TCMSP had the highest docking scores. Interestingly, two of the CM herbs containing the natural compounds that had relatively high binding scores, Forsythiae fructus and Isatidis radix, are components of Lianhua Qingwen (), a CM formula reportedly exerting activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-Cov-2. Moreover, raltegravir, an HIV integrase inhibitor, was found to have a relatively high binding score. CONCLUSIONS A class of compounds, which are from FDA-approved drugs and CM natural compounds, that had high binding energy with RBD of the viral spike protein. Our work provides potential candidates for other researchers to identify inhibitors to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, and highlights the importance of CM and integrative application of CM and Western medicine on treating COVID-19.
China ; Computer Simulation ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Drug Repositioning ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Glycoproteins ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Mass Screening ; methods ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; methods ; Pandemics ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; drug effects ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Protein Binding ; United States ; United States Food and Drug Administration

OBJECTIVE: To improve the methods to synthesize and purify of optical-magnetic bimodal molecular probe of Gd-[4, 7-Bis-carboxymethyl-10-(2-fluorescein thioureaethyl)-1, 4, 7, 10-tetraaza-cyclododec-1-yl]-acetic acid complexes. METHODS: Target compound (7), optical-magnetic bimodal molecular molecular probe, was synthesized by the use of 1, 4, 7, 10-tetraazacyclododecane (1) as starting material via substitution reaction, hydrolysis reaction, coupling reaction and complexation reaction with metal. RESULTS: The synthetic route of Gd-[4, 7-Bis-carboxymethyl-10-(2-fluoresceinthioureaethyl)-1, 4, 7, 10-tetraaza-cyclododec-1-yl]-acetic acid complexes was improved. The optical-magnetic bimodal molecular probes were synthesized by substitution reaction, hydrolysis reaction, coupling reaction and complex reaction with metal respectively. For the improved route, the total yield could reach 34.6% which was higher than the original route (18.0%). The structures of those compounds were identified by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometry. The improved route could avoid the uncontrollable disadvantage of the substitution reaction, this process could reduce the formation of impurities and made the purification process easier, and in the aspect of purification and separation, the preparative high-performance liquid chromatography with less sample loading and high cost was improved to a column chromatography with many sample loads and being easy to operate. Therefore, the use of column chromatography could be more conducive to mass production of the optical-magnetic bimodal molecular molecular probe. CONCLUSION The improved synthetic route improves the controllability of the reaction conditions and makes it easier to purify and separate the compounds. At the same time, the improved synthetic route can increase the total yield significantly. The optical-magnetic bimodal molecular probe can combine the living magnetic resonance imaging with the in vitro optical imaging to realize the dual synchronous detection of magneto-optics, so that the detection results of the living magnetic resonance imaging and the in vitro optical imaging are mutually verified. In other words, this synthetic optical-magnetic bimodal molecular probe will make the experimental results more accurate and reliable. In subsequent biological experimental studies, the optical-magnetic bimodal molecular probe can be applied to related research of brain structure and function, and the probe can be used for the brain-related diseases researches, such as brain tumors. after intravenous administration, and thus the optical-magnetic bimodal molecular probe can play an important role in medical treatment of brain tumors and cerebrovascular diseases.
Acetic Acid ; Brain ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Molecular Probes