The in vivo optical detection of bacterial infections requires highly specific imaging probes with small affinity to mammalian tissue. It is now shown that fluorescent dyes that are conjugated to maltohexaose can be internalized rapidly via the bacteria-specific maltodextrin transport pathway, enabling the in vivo imaging of Escherichia coli down to 105 colony-forming units. The diagnosis of bacterial infections remains a major challenge in medicine. Although numerous contrast agents have been developed to image bacteria, their clinical impact has been minimal because they are unable to detect small numbers of bacteria in vivo, and cannot distinguish infections from other pathologies such as cancer and inflammation1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Here, we present a family of contrast agents, termed maltodextrin-based imaging probes (MDPs), which can detect bacteria in vivo with a sensitivity two orders of magnitude higher than previously reported, and can detect bacteria using a bacteria-specific mechanism that is independent of host response and secondary pathologies. MDPs are composed of a fluorescent dye conjugated to maltohexaose, and are rapidly internalized through the bacteria-specific maltodextrin transport pathway8,9,10,11, endowing the MDPs with a unique combination of high sensitivity and specificity for bacteria. Here, we show that MDPs selectively accumulate within bacteria at millimolar concentrations, and are a thousand-fold more specific for bacteria than mammalian cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that MDPs can image as few as 105 colony-forming units in vivo and can discriminate between active bacteria and inflammation induced by either lipopolysaccharides or metabolically inactive bacteria.
细菌感染的体内光学检测需要对哺乳动物组织具有较小亲和力的高度特异性成像探针。现在表明,与
麦芽六糖结合的荧光
染料可以通过细菌特异性
麦芽糖糊精转运途径快速内化,从而能够对低至 105 个菌落形成单位的大肠杆菌进行体内成像。细菌感染的诊断仍然是医学上的重大挑战。尽管已开发出多种造影剂来对细菌进行成像,但它们的临床影响微乎其微,因为它们无法检测体内少量细菌,并且无法区分感染与癌症和炎症等其他病变1,2,3,4,5 ,6,7。在这里,我们提出了一系列造影剂,称为基于
麦芽糖糊精的成像探针(MDP),它可以检测体内细菌,其灵敏度比之前报道的高两个数量级,并且可以使用细菌特异性机制检测细菌,即独立于宿主反应和继发性病理。 MDP 由与
麦芽六糖缀合的荧光
染料组成,并通过细菌特异性
麦芽糖糊精转运途径快速内化8,9,10,11,赋予MDP 对细菌高灵敏度和特异性的独特组合。在这里,我们证明 MDP 以毫摩尔浓度在细菌内选择性积累,并且对细菌的特异性比哺乳动物细胞高一千倍。此外,我们证明 MDP 可以对体内少至 105 个菌落形成单位进行成像,并且可以区分活性细菌和由脂
多糖或代谢不活跃的细菌引起的炎症。