Noninvasive Ultrasound Molecular Imaging of the Effect of Statins on Endothelial Inflammatory Phenotype in Early Atherosclerosis

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Inflammatory changes on the endothelium are responsible for leukocyte recruitment to plaques in atherosclerosis. Noninvasive assessment of treatment-effects on endothelial inflammation may be of use for managing medical therapy and developing novel therapies. We hypothesized that molecular imaging of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) with contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEU) could assess treatment effects on endothelial phenotype in early atherosclerosis. METHODS: Mice with atherosclerosis produced by gene deletion of the LDL-receptor and Apobec-1-editing protein were studied. At 12 weeks of age, mice received 8 weeks of regular chow or atorvastatin-enriched chow (10 mg/kg/day). At 20 weeks, CEU molecular imaging for aortic endothelial VCAM-1 expression was performed with VCAM-1-targeted (MB(VCAM)) and control microbubbles (MB(Ctr)). Aortic wall thickness was assessed with high frequency ultrasound. Histology, immunohistology and Western blot were used to assess plaque burden and VCAM-1 expression. RESULTS: Plaque burden was reduced on histology, and VCAM-1 was reduced on Western blot by atorvastatin, which corresponded to less endothelial expression of VCAM-1 on immunohistology. High frequency ultrasound did not detect differences in aortic wall thickness between groups. In contrast, CEU molecular imaging demonstrated selective signal enhancement for MB(VCAM) in non-treated animals (MB(VCAM) 2±0.3 vs MB(Ctr) 0.7±0.2, p<0.01), but not in statin-treated animals (MB(VCAM) 0.8±0.2 vs MB(Ctr) 1.0±0.2, p = ns; p<0.01 for the effect of statin on MB(VCAM) signal). CONCLUSIONS: Non-invasive CEU molecular imaging detects the effects of anti-inflammatory treatment on endothelial inflammation in early atherosclerosis. This easily accessible, low-cost technique may be useful in assessing treatment effects in preclinical research and in patients.