Biogenic Imaging Contrast Agents

• Published in: Advanced science Vol. 10; no. 25; pp. e2207090 - n/a
• Main Authors: Dan, Qing, Jiang, Xinpeng, Wang, Run, Dai, Zhifei, Sun, Desheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.09.2023; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Amino acids; biogenic; Blood vessels; contrast agent; Contrast agents; Contrast Media; Copyright; Ferritins; Gene expression; Genetic engineering; Humans; imaging; Light; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medical research; Metabolism; Metabolites; Mutation; Optical Imaging; Proteins; reporter gene; Review; Reviews; Sound waves; Tomography; Ultrasonography - methods; Visualization; biogenic; reporter gene; imaging; contrast agent
• ISSN: 2198-3844; 2198-3844
• DOI: 10.1002/advs.202207090

Imaging contrast agents are widely investigated in preclinical and clinical studies, among which biogenic imaging contrast agents (BICAs) are developing rapidly and playing an increasingly important role in biomedical research ranging from subcellular level to individual level. The unique properties of BICAs, including expression by cells as reporters and specific genetic modification, facilitate various in vitro and in vivo studies, such as quantification of gene expression, observation of protein interactions, visualization of cellular proliferation, monitoring of metabolism, and detection of dysfunctions. Furthermore, in human body, BICAs are remarkably helpful for disease diagnosis when the dysregulation of these agents occurs and can be detected through imaging techniques. There are various BICAs matched with a set of imaging techniques, including fluorescent proteins for fluorescence imaging, gas vesicles for ultrasound imaging, and ferritin for magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, bimodal and multimodal imaging can be realized through combining the functions of different BICAs, which helps overcome the limitations of monomodal imaging. In this review, the focus is on the properties, mechanisms, applications, and future directions of BICAs. Biogenic imaging contrast agents (BICAs) facilitate various studies, such as quantification of gene expression, observation of protein interactions, visualization of cellular proliferation, monitoring of metabolism, and detection of dysfunctions. Matched with a set of imaging techniques, including fluorescent proteins for fluorescence imaging, gas vesicles for ultrasound imaging, and ferritin for magnetic resonance imaging, BICAs can realize diseases detection and monitoring.