Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 May 20;28(15):1404-1415.
doi: 10.1089/ars.2017.7390. Epub 2017 Dec 11.

In Vivo and In Situ Detection of Macromolecular Free Radicals Using Immuno-Spin Trapping and Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Rheal A Towner  1 , Nataliya Smith  1
Affiliations
Review

In Vivo and In Situ Detection of Macromolecular Free Radicals Using Immuno-Spin Trapping and Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Rheal A Towner et al. Antioxid Redox Signal. .

Abstract

Significance: In vivo free radical imaging in preclinical models of disease has become a reality. Free radicals have traditionally been characterized by electron spin resonance (ESR) or electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy coupled with spin trapping. The disadvantage of the ESR/EPR approach is that spin adducts are short-lived due to biological reductive and/or oxidative processes. Immuno-spin trapping (IST) involves the use of an antibody that recognizes macromolecular 5,5-dimethyl-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) spin adducts (anti-DMPO antibody), regardless of the oxidative/reductive state of trapped radical adducts. Recent Advances: The IST approach has been extended to an in vivo application that combines IST with molecular magnetic resonance imaging (mMRI). This combined IST-mMRI approach involves the use of a spin-trapping agent, DMPO, to trap free radicals in disease models, and administration of an mMRI probe, an anti-DMPO probe, which combines an antibody against DMPO-radical adducts and an MRI contrast agent, resulting in targeted free radical adduct detection.

Critical issues: The combined IST-mMRI approach has been used in several rodent disease models, including diabetes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), gliomas, and septic encephalopathy. The advantage of this approach is that heterogeneous levels of trapped free radicals can be detected directly in vivo and in situ to pin point where free radicals are formed in different tissues.

Future directions: The approach can also be used to assess therapeutic agents that are either free radical scavengers or generate free radicals. Smaller probe constructs and radical identification approaches are being considered. The focus of this review is on the different applications that have been studied, advantages and limitations, and future directions. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 1404-1415.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; diabetes; glioma; immuno-spin trapping; septic encephalopathy; targeted free radical imaging.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources