Carbonic Anhydrase Ⅸ Targeted Imaging Of Lymph Nodes Metastases In Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Via Multispectral Optoacoustic Tomography

PurposeTo evaluate the feasibility of carbonic anhydrase Ⅸ(CAⅨ)targeted imaging of lymph nodes metastases in NPC via multispectral optoacoustic tomography.MethodsIn this study,a CAⅨ-specific probe was synthesized for positioning the metastases.Experiments of cellular uptake and biodistribution were performed to confirm the tumor selectivity of the probe.Mouse models of lymph nodes metastases through transplanting NPC cells into their soles(n = 10)were established for in vivo imaging.MSOT was applied to detect the signal of the probe in the metastatic lymph nodes and then assessed with magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).Immunopathology examination was executed for the further verification of in vivo imaging.ResultsIn vitro and in vivo experiments showed the high tumor selectivity of the CAⅨ-specific probe.Compared to MRI,the unique ability of multispectral analysis in MSOT system demonstrated its high superior to precisely detecting exogenous marker,which could clearly display the accumulation of the probe that reflected the involvement of the lymph nodes.Verified by immunopathology examination,CAⅨ were positive expression in the area of tumor infiltration of the metastatic lymph nodes.ConclusionsMSOT united with the CAⅨ-specific probes show its high superiority in non-invasively and specifically detecting lymph nodes metastases in NPC,which has great potential in precision medicine of metastatic NPC.