NIRF Optical/PET Dual-Modal Imaging of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Heptamethine Carbocyanine Dye

Figure 3

Preferential uptake and retention of NIRF dye in orthotopic HCC xenograft tumors in mice. (a) NIRF imaging of Hep3B-3.1 cell-derived tumor xenografts and D68979 PDX tumor xenografts in orthotopic models. HCC Hep3B-3.1-Luc cells and a tumor fragment from a PDX model were implanted into the livers of nude mice. Two weeks later, tumor-emitting signals were captured by NIRF imaging. Representative images are shown. (b) Quantification of NIRF dye uptake in (a) (per cm²). Data are presented as the ratio of dye uptake intensity as normalized to that of blank region (mean ± SD, ). (c) Ex vivo dual BLI/NIRF imaging of select organs, including the heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney, as dissected from mice in (a). (d) Quantification of NIRF signal intensity from the tumor-bearing experimental group in (c). Data are presented as the percentage (mean ± SD, ) of signal intensity as normalized to that of liver tumor. Signal intensity in liver tumor is set as 100%. (e) H&E analyses of tumor tissues derived from orthotopic HCC xenograft tumors. Original magnification, ×400; scale bars represent 20 μm.

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