Abstract
Monitoring the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is hindered by a lack of suitable non-invasive imaging methods. Here, we show that the endogenous pigment lipofuscin displays strong near-infrared and shortwave-infrared fluorescence when excited at 808 nm, enabling label-free imaging of liver injury in mice and the discrimination of pathological processes from normal liver processes with high specificity and sensitivity. We also show that the near-infrared and shortwave-infrared fluorescence of lipofuscin can be used to monitor the progression and regression of liver necroinflammation and fibrosis in mouse models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and advanced fibrosis, as well as to detect non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and cirrhosis in biopsied samples of human liver tissue.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Biomarkers / metabolism
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Chronic Disease
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Disease Progression
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Female
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Fluorescence
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Humans
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Lipodystrophy / diagnostic imaging
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Lipodystrophy / metabolism
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Lipodystrophy / pathology
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Lipofuscin / metabolism*
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Liver / diagnostic imaging
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Liver / metabolism
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Liver / pathology
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Liver Cirrhosis / diagnostic imaging
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Liver Cirrhosis / metabolism
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Liver Cirrhosis / pathology
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Liver Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
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Liver Diseases / metabolism
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Liver Diseases / pathology*
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Male
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Mice
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Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / diagnostic imaging
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Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / metabolism
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Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / pathology
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Optical Imaging
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Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared