Targeting vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque via PET‑tracers aiming at cell‑surface overexpression of somatostatin receptors

Papadakis,Georgios Z.; Kochiadakis,George; Lazopoulos,George; Marias,Kostas; Klapsinos,Nikolaos; Hannah‑shmouni,Fady; Igoumenaki,Georgia G.; Nikolouzakis,Taxiarchis Konstantinos; Kteniadakis,Stelios; Spandidos,Demetrios A.; Karantanas,Apostolos H.

doi:10.3892/br.2020.1316

Targeting vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque via PET‑tracers aiming at cell‑surface overexpression of somatostatin receptors

Authors:
- Georgios Z. Papadakis
- George Kochiadakis
- George Lazopoulos
- Kostas Marias
- Nikolaos Klapsinos
- Fady Hannah‑shmouni
- Georgia G. Igoumenaki
- Taxiarchis Konstantinos Nikolouzakis
- Stelios Kteniadakis
- Demetrios A. Spandidos
- Apostolos H. Karantanas
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Affiliations: Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece, Cardiology Department, University of Crete, 71110 Heraklion, Greece, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University General Hospital of Heraklion, University of Crete, Medical School, 71003 Heraklion, Greece, Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH), Computational Biomedicine Laboratory (CBML), 70013 Heraklion, Greece, Internal Medicine‑Endocrinology, Hypertension and Metabolic Genetics, Section on Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA, Laboratory of Anatomy‑Histology‑Embryology, Medical School, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Greece, Emergency Department, Venizeleion General Hospital, 71409 Heraklion, Greece, Laboratory of Clinical Virology, Medical School, University of Crete, 70013 Heraklion, Greece
Published online on: June 16, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2020.1316
Article Number: 9
Copyright: © Papadakis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CD) is the leading cause of death in the developed world, with major atherothrombotic events, being mainly attributed to the rupture of unstable, vulnerable atherosclerotic lesions, leading to blood flow obstruction. Since unstable atherosclerotic plaques frequently do not cause hemodynamically significant blood flow restriction, conventional stress imaging tests cannot depict the vulnerable, high‑risk for rupture atherosclerotic lesions. Therefore, molecular imaging techniques targeting specific pathophysiologic features related to atherosclerotic plaque rupture mechanism, hold promise for precise and individualized treatment strategies of CD. In the current report, we describe in a patient diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, the selective uptake of ⁶⁸Ga‑DOATATE by an atherosclerotic lesion in the thoracic aorta. This data indicates that ⁶⁸Ga‑DOTATATE, which is a positron emitting tomography tracer, targeting the recruitment of macrophages taking place in the vulnerable plaque, could potentially serve as an imaging probe for the detection of high‑risk, prone to rupture plaques.

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