<i>In Vivo</i> Imaging of Senescent Vascular Cells in Atherosclerotic Mice Using a β-Galactosidase-Activatable Nanoprobe

Abstract

Senescence-associated diseases have severely diminished the quality of life and health of patients. However, a sensitive assay of these diseases remains limited due to a lack of straightforward methods. Considering that senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) is overexpressed in senescent cells, the detection of SA-β-Gal in senescent cells and tissues might be a feasible strategy for the early diagnosis of SA diseases. In this study, a β-galactosidase-activatable nanoprobe <b>BOD-L-βGal-NPs</b> was developed for the imaging of senescent cells and vasculature in atherosclerotic mice via real-time monitoring of β-Gal. <b>BOD-L-βGal-NPs</b> was fabricated by encapsulating a newly designed NIR ratiometric probe <b>BOD-L-βGal</b> within a poly(lactic-<i>co</i>-glycolic) acid (PLGA) core. Nanoprobe <b>BOD-L-βGal-NPs</b> showed good accumulation in arteries, thus successfully visualizing senescent cells and vasculature in atherosclerotic mice by tail vein injection. Our findings indicated that nanoprobe <b>BOD-L-βGal-NPs</b> holds great potential for the early diagnosis and therapy of atherosclerosis and other aging-associated diseases.