Squamous Cell Carcinoma Xenografts: Use of VEGFR2-targeted Microbubbles for Combined Functional and Molecular US to Monitor Antiangiogenic Therapy Effects.

Purpose: To assess the ability of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor type 2 (VEGFR2)-targeted and nontargeted ultrasonography (US) to depict antiangiogenic therapy effects and to investigate whether first-pass kinetics obtained with VEGFR2-targeted microbubbles provide independent data about tumor vascularization.

Materials And Methods: Governmental approval was obtained for animal experiments. Vascularization in response to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor or vehicle-control treatment (10 per group) in HaCaT-ras A-5RT3 xenografts was longitudinally assessed in mice by means of first-pass kinetics of nontargeted microbubbles (BR1, BR38; Bracco, Geneva, Switzerland) and VEGFR2-targeted microbubbles (BR55, Bracco) before and 4, 7, and 14 days after therapy.

Quantitative Micro-Computed Tomography Imaging of Vascular Dysfunction in Progressive Kidney Diseases.

Progressive kidney diseases and renal fibrosis are associated with endothelial injury and capillary rarefaction. However, our understanding of these processes has been hampered by the lack of tools enabling the quantitative and noninvasive monitoring of vessel functionality. Here, we used micro-computed tomography (µCT) for anatomical and functional imaging of vascular alterations in three murine models with distinct mechanisms of progressive kidney injury: ischemia-reperfusion (I/R, days 1-56), unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO, days 1-10), and Alport mice (6-8 weeks old).

Micro-CT imaging of tumor angiogenesis: quantitative measures describing micromorphology and vascularization.

Angiogenesis is a hallmark of cancer, and its noninvasive visualization and quantification are key factors for facilitating translational anticancer research. Using four tumor models characterized by different degrees of aggressiveness and angiogenesis, we show that the combination of functional in vivo and anatomical ex vivo X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) allows highly accurate quantification of relative blood volume (rBV) and highly detailed three-dimensional analysis of the vascular network in tumors. Depending on the tumor model, rBV values determined using in vivo μCT ranged from 2.

Molecular pathways involved in prostate carcinogenesis: insights from public microarray datasets.

Background: Prostate cancer is currently the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in industrialized countries. Worldwide, an increase in prostate cancer incidence is expected due to an increased life-expectancy, aging of the population and improved diagnosis. Although the specific underlying mechanisms of prostate carcinogenesis remain unknown, prostate cancer is thought to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors altering key cellular processes.