Imaging of Senescent Vascular Cells in Atherosclerotic Mice Using a β-Galactosidase-Activatable Nanoprobe.

Senescence-associated diseases have severely diminished the quality of life and health of patients. However, a sensitive assay of these diseases remains limited due to a lack of straightforward methods. Considering that senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) is overexpressed in senescent cells, the detection of SA-β-Gal in senescent cells and tissues might be a feasible strategy for the early diagnosis of SA diseases. In this study, a β-galactosidase-activatable nanoprobe was developed for the imaging of senescent cells and vasculature in atherosclerotic mice via real-time monitoring of β-Gal. was fabricated by encapsulating a newly designed NIR ratiometric probe within a poly(lactic--glycolic) acid (PLGA) core. Nanoprobe showed good accumulation in arteries, thus successfully visualizing senescent cells and vasculature in atherosclerotic mice by tail vein injection. Our findings indicated that nanoprobe holds great potential for the early diagnosis and therapy of atherosclerosis and other aging-associated diseases.