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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2006;26:1594.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.

Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins

Intrinsic Fluorescence and Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy Identify Superficial Foam Cells in Coronary Plaques Prone to Erosion

George O. Angheloiu; Joseph T. Arendt; Markus G. Müller; Abigail S. Haka; Irene Georgakoudi; Jason T. Motz; Obrad R. Scepanovic; Barry D. Kuban; Jonathan Myles; Frank Miller; Eugene A. Podrez; Maryann Fitzmaurice; John R. Kramer; Michael S. Feld

From the Spectroscopy Laboratory (G.O.A., J.T.A., M.G.M., A.S.H., I.G., J.T.M., O.R.S., J.R.K., M.S.F.), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Departments of Biomedical Engineering (B.D.K.), Pathology (J.M.), and Cell Biology (E.A.P.), Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio; Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office (F.M.) Cleveland, Ohio; and University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University (M.F.), Cleveland, Oh.

Correspondence to George O. Angheloiu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139. E-mail angheloiugo{at}upmc.edu

Objective— Foam cells perform critical functions in atherosclerosis. We hypothesize that coronary segments with superficial foam cells (SFCs) situated in a region of interest with a depth of 200 µm can be identified using intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy (IFS) and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). This is a key step in our ongoing program to develop a spectroscopic technique for real-time in vivo diagnosis of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque.

Methods and Results— We subjected 132 human coronary segments to in vitro IFS and DRS. We detected SFCs in 13 thick fibrous cap atheromas and 8 pathologic intimal thickening (PIT) lesions. SFCs colocalized with accumulations of smooth muscle cells and proteoglycans, including hyaluronan (P<0.001). Two spectroscopic parameters were generated from analysis of IFS at 480 nm excitation and DRS. A discriminatory algorithm using these parameters identified specimens with SFC area >40%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 2.5%, and 0% of the region of interest with 98%, 98%, 93%, 94%, 93%, and 90% accuracy, respectively.

Conclusion— Our combined IFS and DRS technique accurately detects SFCs in thick fibrous cap atheromas and PIT lesions. Because SFCs are associated with histological markers of plaque erosion, our spectroscopic technique could prove useful in identifying vulnerable plaques.

We demonstrate that intrinsic fluorescence and diffuse reflectance accurately detect coronary plaques with superficial foam cells associated with proteoglycans and smooth muscle cells, 2 markers of coronary erosion. This is a step in our program to develop spectroscopic techniques for real-time in vivo diagnosis of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque.

Key Words: foam cells • spectroscopy • atherosclerosis • coronary artery disease • human

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