Ultrasound microbubble contrast agents: Application to therapy for peripheral vascular disease

Ultrasound contrast agents are not only effective in ultrasonic imaging but are also important tools for drug or gene delivery. Ultrasound beams can disrupt microbubbles and cell membranes, offering the opportunity to locally deliver drugs or genes. Liposome-shelled microbubbles have many advantages and are widely used in many applications, while Lipofectamine™ (Invitrogen, Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA), as a material of microbubble membranes, has been used to enhance the effects of gene delivery. Ultrasound contrast agents that have therapeutic effects can be used for treating peripheral vascular diseases, particularly in thrombotic and angiogenic diseases. A combination of targeted contrast agent and drug-carrying contrast agent may be safer and more effective in treating thrombosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor-loaded microbubbles are expected to treat a variety of neovascular diseases such as severe limb ischemia and other diseases. Although there are several limitations in the application of therapeutic ultrasound microbubble contrast agents, it will offer a new hope for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease.     

Bioeffects considerations for diagnostic ultrasound contrast agents.

Diagnostic ultrasound contrast agents have been developed for enhancing the echogenicity of blood and for delineating other structures of the body. Approved agents are suspensions of gas bodies (stabilized microbubbles), which have been designed for persistence in the circulation and strong echo return for imaging. The interaction of ultrasound pulses with these gas bodies is a form of acoustic cavitation, and they also may act as inertial cavitation nuclei. This interaction produces mechanical perturbation and a potential for bioeffects on nearby cells or tissues. In vitro, sonoporation and cell death occur at mechanical index (MI) values less than the inertial cavitation threshold. In vivo, bioeffects reported for MI values greater than 0.4 include microvascular leakage, petechiae, cardiomyocyte death, inflammatory cell infiltration, and premature ventricular contractions and are accompanied by gas body destruction within the capillary bed. Bioeffects for MIs of 1.9 or less have been reported in skeletal muscle, fat, myocardium, kidney, liver, and intestine. Therapeutic applications that rely on these bioeffects include targeted drug delivery to the interstitium and DNA transfer into cells for gene therapy. Bioeffects of contrast-aided diagnostic ultrasound happen on a microscopic scale, and their importance in the clinical setting remains uncertain.     

Targeted drug delivery with focused ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier opening using acoustically-activated nanodroplets

Focused ultrasound (FUS) in the presence of systemically administered microbubbles has been shown to locally, transiently and reversibly increase the permeability of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), thus allowing targeted delivery of therapeutic agents in the brain for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Currently, microbubbles are the only agents that have been used to facilitate the FUS-induced BBB opening. However, they are constrained within the intravascular space due to their micron-size diameters, limiting the delivery effect at or near the microvessels. In the present study, acoustically-activated nanodroplets were used as a new class of contrast agents to mediate FUS-induced BBB opening in order to study the feasibility of utilizing these nanoscale phase-shift particles for targeted drug delivery in the brain. Significant dextran delivery was achieved in the mouse hippocampus using nanodroplets at clinically relevant pressures. Passive cavitation detection was used in the attempt to establish a correlation between the amount of dextran delivered in the brain and the acoustic emission recorded during sonication. Conventional microbubbles with the same lipid shell composition and perfluorobutane core as the nanodroplets were also used to compare the efficiency of an FUS-induced dextran delivery. It was found that nanodroplets had a higher BBB opening pressure threshold but a lower stable cavitation threshold than microbubbles, suggesting that contrast agent-dependent acoustic emission monitoring was needed. A more homogeneous dextran delivery within the targeted hippocampus was achieved using nanodroplets without inducing inertial cavitation or compromising safety. Our results offered a new means of developing the FUS-induced BBB opening technology for potential extravascular targeted drug delivery in the brain, extending the potential drug delivery region beyond the cerebral vasculature.     

微泡超声造影剂:一种新型的药物靶向载体

药物携载是目前重要的研究领域,如何使得药物安全、有效、靶向性地导入体内特定器官、组织并使其释放在靶细胞内是研究的重点.微泡超声造影剂作为一种新型的体内药物载体,受到国内外学者的广泛关注.本文对有关微泡超声造影剂作为药物载体的作用原理、制备要求、制备方法、特点和应用等方面的研究作了介绍.     

Contrast ultrasound targeted drug and gene delivery: an update on a new therapeutic modality

The effective delivery of intravascular drugs and genes to regions of pathology is dependent on a number of factors that are often difficult to control. Foremost is the site-specific delivery of the payload to the region of pathology and the subsequent transport of the payload across the endothelial barrier. Ultrasound contrast agent microbubbles, which are typically used for image enhancement, are capable of amplifying both the targeting and transport of drugs and genes to tissue. Microbubble targeting can be achieved by the intrinsic binding properties of the microbubble shells or through the attachment of site-specific ligands. Once microbubbles have been targeted to the region of interest, microvessel walls can be permeabilized by destroying the microbubbles with low-frequency, high-power ultrasound. A second level of targeting specificity can be achieved by carefully controlling the ultrasound field and limiting microbubble destruction to the region of interest. When microbubbles are destroyed, drugs or genes that are housed within them or bound to their shells can be released to the blood stream and then delivered to tissue by convective forces through the permeabilized microvessels. An alternative strategy is to increase payload volume by coinjecting drug- or gene-bearing vehicles, such as liposomes, with the microbubbles. In this manifestation, microbubbles are used for creating sites of microvessel permeabilization that facilitate drug or gene vehicle transport. Recent work in the emerging field of contrast ultrasound-based therapeutics, with particular emphasis on the delivery of drugs and genes to tissue through microvascular networks is reviewed.     

Activation of microbubbles by short-pulsed ultrasound enhances the cytotoxic effect of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) in a canine thyroid adenocarcinoma cell line in vitro

Ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction has succeeded in delivering drugs and genes. This study was designed to explore characteristics of ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction using short-pulsed diagnostic ultrasound. Canine thyroid adenocarcinoma cells were exposed to short-pulsed diagnostic ultrasound in the presence of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin) and ultrasound contrast agent Sonazoid^® microbubbles. The cytotoxic effect of cisplatin was enhanced by short-pulsed diagnostic ultrasound and microbubbles. Incubation time with microbubbles influenced the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin. However, exposure duration did not affect the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin. Therefore, short-pulsed diagnostic ultrasound may activate microbubbles near cells and deliver cisplatin into cells. In addition, activation of microbubbles may be concluded in a short time. Our results suggest that short exposure duration could be potentially sufficient to induce efficient drug delivery by ultrasound targeted microbubble destruction using short-pulsed diagnostic ultrasound.     

Ultrasound and Microbubble-Induced Intra- and Intercellular Bioeffects in Primary Endothelial Cells

Recent developments in the field of ultrasound (US) contrast agents have demonstrated that these encapsulated microbubbles can not only be used for diagnostic imaging but may also be employed as therapeutic carriers for localized, targeted drug or gene delivery. The exact mechanisms behind increased uptake of therapeutic compounds by US-exposed microbubbles are still not fully understood. Therefore, we studied the effects of stably oscillating SonoVue microbubbles on relevant parameters of cellular and intercellular permeability, i.e., reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, calcium permeability, F-actin cytoskeleton, monolayer integrity and cell viability using live-cell fluorescence microscopy. US was applied at 1-MHz, 0.1 MPa peak-negative pressure, 0.2% duty cycle and 20 Hz pulse repetition frequency to primary endothelial cells. We demonstrated increased membrane permeability for calcium ions, with an important role for H₂O₂. Catalase, an extracellular H₂O₂ scavenger, significantly blocked the influx of calcium ions. Further changes in ROS homeostasis involved an increase in intracellular H₂O₂ levels, protein nitrosylation and a decrease in total endogenous glutathione levels. In addition, an increase in the number of F-actin stress fibers and F-actin cytoskeletal rearrangement were observed. Furthermore, US-exposed microbubbles significantly affected endothelial monolayer integrity, but importantly, disrupted cell-cell interactions were restored within 30 min. Finally, cell viability was not affected. In conclusion, these data provide more insight in the interactions between US, microbubbles and endothelial cells, which is important for understanding the mechanisms behind US and microbubble-enhanced uptake of drugs or genes. (E-mail: ljm.juffermans@vumc.nl)     

超声微泡造影剂对心肌组织的生物学效应及介导VEGF基因转染大鼠心肌的实验研究

目的 探讨超声微泡造影剂对心肌组织的生物学效应及其介导VEGF基因转染大鼠心肌的有效性。方法 18只健康雄性Wistar大鼠，取3只采用超声波在鼠胸壁破坏微泡造影剂，观察对心肌组织显微结构的影响。将另15只急性心肌梗死3天后的雄性Wistar大鼠分为3组，每组5只。第一组采用超声破坏微泡造影剂的方式，将pcDzVEGFm基因转染大鼠心肌至造影剂不再显影(约6min)；第二组尾静脉输入同等剂量携pcD。VEGF。基因的造影剂；第三组为对照。2周后，取缺血心肌组织行VEGF免疫组织化学染色，观察心肌组织血管内皮生长因子(VEGF)蛋白表达情况。结果超声波破坏微泡造影剂能使心肌组织充血，产生大量空泡，并有部分心肌细胞坏死。采用超声微泡造影剂介导的VEGF基因转染，能明显增强大鼠心肌组织VEGF蛋白的表达。结论 超声微泡造影剂能明显增强对组织的空化效应，其介导的VEGF基因治疗是一种无创、新型、高效的基因转移方法。     

医学超声微泡造影剂空化效应的研究进展

近年来,随着新型超声微泡造影剂的研究和应用,超声微泡介导靶向治疗可增强基因转染效率,提高特定组织的基因表达水平和药物浓度,是一种安全、简便、高效的靶向性基因转染及药物治疗的新方法。本文就超声空化效应和超声微泡的治疗机制和应用做一简要综述。     

Leveraging the power of ultrasound for therapeutic design and optimization

Contrast agent-enhanced ultrasound can facilitate personalized therapeutic strategies by providing the technology to measure local blood flow rate, to selectively image receptors on the vascular endothelium, and to enhance localized drug delivery. Ultrasound contrast agents are micron-diameter encapsulated bubbles that circulate within the vascular compartment and can be selectively imaged with ultrasound. Microbubble transport-based estimates of local blood flow can quantify changes resulting from anti-angiogenic therapies and facilitate differentiation of angiogenic mechanisms. Microbubbles that are conjugated with targeting ligands attach to endothelial surface receptors that are upregulated in disease, providing high signal-to-noise ratio images of pathological vasculature. In addition to imaging applications, microbubbles can be used to enhance localized gene and drug delivery, either by changing membrane and vascular permeability or by carrying and locally releasing cargo. Our goal in this review is to provide an overview of the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound methodologies in the design and evaluation of therapeutic strategies with emphases on quantitative blood flow mapping, molecular imaging, and enhanced drug delivery.     

Self-assembled liposome-loaded microbubbles: The missing link for safe and efficient ultrasound triggered drug-delivery

Liposome-loaded microbubbles have been recently introduced as a promising drug delivery platform for ultrasound guided drug delivery. In this paper we design liposome-loaded (lipid-shelled) microbubbles through the simple self-assembly of the involved compounds in a single step process. We thoroughly characterized the liposome-loading of the microbubbles and evaluated the cell killing efficiency of this material using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug. Importantly, we observed that the DOX liposome-loaded microbubbles allowed killing of melanoma cells even at very low doses of DOX. These findings clearly prove the potential of liposome-loaded microbubbles for ultrasound targeted drug delivery to cancer tissues.     

Polymer-Based Materials in Cancer Treatment: From Therapeutic Carrier and Ultrasound Contrast Agent to Theranostic Applications

The emergence of theranostics with ultrasound technology is a promising development, as it opens pathways to providing more effective treatments for cancer. Advancements in ultrasound imaging would give a more detailed and accurate image for better diagnosis and treatment planning. Polymeric ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) are appealing because they are stable and easily modified for active targeting. In addition, a better therapy could be achieved in conjunction with advancements in UCAs. The active targeting not only makes the precise imaging possible, but also leads to targeted delivery of active components to specific local treatment sites. A polymeric nanocarrier with surface bioconjugation is the key to prolonging the bioavailability of the encapsulated drugs or genes and the capacity to target the specific tumor site. Using ultrasound with other imaging modalities will open more precise and better ways for diagnosis and therapy and bring us a step closer to personalized medicine. This review focuses on polymer-based materials of UCAs, multimodal imaging agents and therapeutic carriers that have been currently explored for their theranostic applications involving ultrasound for cancer diagnosis and treatment.     

超声微泡携基因靶向治疗妇科肿瘤的研究进展

随着医学超声影像学的新技术层出不穷,从彩色多普勒超声到超声造影到超声微泡携基因靶向破坏定位释放技术,极大的拓展了超声的临床应用范围,尤其是超声微泡介导基因在肿瘤基因治疗领域中的应用日益广泛,可以促进目的基因在肿瘤细胞中的转染,具有更高的靶向性和安全性,现就其超声微泡携基因靶向治疗妇科肿瘤的研究进展作一综述。     

超声微泡造影剂的肿瘤靶向治疗研究进展

近几年,国内外着眼于靶向微泡造影剂的研究,利用超声波与微泡造影剂的相互作用及所产生的生物学效应,可实现微泡所携带的基因/药物等向目标组织的转移释放,介导肿瘤细胞的凋亡及肿瘤微血管的栓塞阻断等,从而起到靶向治疗的作用。随着各种兼具诊断治疗双重作用的超声探头和靶向微泡造影剂包括纳米级微泡造影剂的研制,以及对超声生物学效应的深入研究,超声微泡介导肿瘤靶向治疗将为临床肿瘤的治疗带来新的希望。     

超声微泡造影剂用于疾病治疗的超声辐照参数优化

超声微泡造影剂应用于疾病治疗日益广泛。如利用携带有基因或药物的微泡进行肿瘤、血栓或其他疾病的治疗,在其过程中如何选择最佳的超声辐照参数十分重要,本文对此作一综述。     

超声微泡造影剂实现肿瘤靶向性治疗研究进展

低功率超声辐照微泡栓塞肿瘤血管是治疗肿瘤的一种新方法,特异性抗体偶联微泡介导的药物或基因靶向运输在肿瘤治疗方面也显示出巨大潜力,具有广阔的应用前景。现对超声微泡造影剂介导肿瘤靶向性治疗的研究进展做一综述。     

Current advances in ultrasound-combined nanobubbles for cancer-targeted therapy: a review of the current status and future perspectives

The non-specific distribution, non-selectivity towards cancerous cells, and adverse off-target side effects of anticancer drugs and other therapeutic molecules lead to their inferior clinical efficacy. Accordingly, ultrasound-based targeted delivery of therapeutic molecules loaded in smart nanocarriers is currently gaining wider acceptance for the treatment and management of cancer. Nanobubbles (NBs) are nanosize carriers, which are currently used as effective drug/gene delivery systems because they can deliver drugs/genes selectively to target sites. Thus, combining the applications of ultrasound with NBs has recently demonstrated increased localization of anticancer molecules in tumor tissues with triggered release behavior. Consequently, an effective therapeutic concentration of drugs/genes is achieved in target tumor tissues with ultimately increased therapeutic efficacy and minimal side-effects on other non-cancerous tissues. This review illustrates present developments in the field of ultrasound-nanobubble combined strategies for targeted cancer treatment. The first part of this review discusses the composition and the formulation parameters of NBs. Next, we illustrate the interactions and biological effects of combining NBs and ultrasound. Subsequently, we explain the potential of NBs combined with US for targeted cancer therapeutics. Finally, the present and future directions for the improvement of current methods are proposed.

NBs combined with ultrasound demonstrated the ability to enhance the targeting of anticancer agents and improve the efficacy.     

超声联合微泡造影剂介导基因治疗的研究进展

基因治疗将是人类攻克许多难治性疾病的有效方法,超声微泡作为一种新型的基因载体,可以安全、简便、靶向性地将基因转移入特定的组织、细胞。本文阐述了超声联合微泡介导基因治疗的研究进展以及未来的应用前景。     

载多西紫杉醇脂质微泡超声造影剂的制备及其性质

目的 制备载多西紫杉醇脂质微泡并测定性质及观察其体内显像效果.方法 制备载多西紫杉醇脂质微泡,测定粒径、包封率等性质;观察60Co射线灭菌前后微泡性质的差异,观察超声辐照后载药微泡药物的释放,并观察其对兔VX2肝癌的显像效果.结果 载多西紫杉醇微泡的浓度为2.2×109～3.2×109个/ml;粒径分布范围为473.4～706.6 nm,平均粒径为623.1 nm;微泡的包封率为70%以上,载药量为(17.5±0.8)%;Zeta电位为-(3.1±0.9)mV;超声辐照微泡溶液后,药物可释放;静脉注射此微泡后,兔肝实质见良好、持续的增强显像,肝癌病灶可见明显的"快进快出"显影表现.结论 载多西紫杉醇脂质微泡包封率较高,性质较佳,体内显像效果好,提高了超声在肝癌等肿瘤诊断中的价值,超声辐照能促使微泡中的药物释放,有望在实时监控下体内定点靶向给药,实现对肿瘤的靶向治疗.     

Deformable gas-filled microbubbles targeted to P-selectin.

Ultrasound contrast microbubbles have been successfully targeted to a number of intravascular disease markers. We hypothesized that targeted delivery could be improved further, by making the microbubbles deformable, leading to increased microbubble-endothelium adhesion contact area and stabilized adhesion. Activated leukocytes utilize such strategy; they deform after binding to inflamed endothelium in the vasculature. Lipid-shell microbubbles were targeted to the endothelial inflammatory protein P-selectin with a monoclonal anti-P-selectin antibody attached to the microbubble shell. Deformable microbubbles were created by controlled pressurization with partial gas loss, which generated an average excess shell surface area of approximately 30% and the formation of outward-projected wrinkles and folds. Targeted microbubble adhesion and deformability were assessed in the parallel plate flow chamber under shear flow. Sustained adhesion of deformable microbubbles at wall shear stresses between 0.4 and 1.35 dyn/cm(2) was consistently better than adhesion of wrinkle-free microbubbles. Over this shear range, targeted wrinkled microbubbles were deformed by shear flow, unlike wrinkle-free microbubbles. In a murine cremaster inflammation model, a significant improvement of deformable microbubble targeting was observed by intravital microscopy. Overall, the mechanical aspects of adhesion, such as particle shape, deformability and surface microstructure, are important in engineering efficient site-targeted particle-based agents for medical imaging and therapy.