We investigated the ability of targeted immunomicelles to detect and assess macrophages in atherosclerotic plaque using MRI in vivo . There is a large clinical need for a noninvasive tool to assess atherosclerosis from a molecular and cellular standpoint. Macrophages play a central role in atherosclerosis and are associated with plaques vulnerable to rupture. Therefore, macrophage scavenger receptor (MSR) was chosen as a target for molecular MRI. MSR-targeted immunomicelles, micelles, and gadolinium–diethyltriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) were tested in ApoE−/− and WT mice by using in vivo MRI. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy colocalization, macrophage immunostaining and MRI correlation, competitive inhibition, and various other analyses were performed. In vivo MRI revealed that at 24 h postinjection, immunomicelles provided a 79% increase in signal intensity of atherosclerotic aortas in ApoE−/− mice compared with only 34% using untargeted micelles and no enhancement using gadolinium–DTPA. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy revealed colocalization between fluorescent immunomicelles and macrophages in plaques. There was a strong correlation between macrophage content in atherosclerotic plaques and the matched in vivo MRI results as measured by the percent normalized enhancement ratio. Monoclonal antibodies to MSR were able to significantly hinder immunomicelles from providing contrast enhancement of atherosclerotic vessels in vivo . Immunomicelles provided excellent validated in vivo enhancement of atherosclerotic plaques. The enhancement seen is related to the macrophage content of the atherosclerotic vessel areas imaged. Immunomicelles may aid in the detection of high macrophage content associated with plaques vulnerable to rupture.

Psoriasis increases the risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease. Secukinumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against IL-17A, shows significant efficacy in psoriasis, but effects on CV markers are unknown. CARIMA (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Psoriasis Patients Treated with Secukinumab) was a 52-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, exploratory trial in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis without clinical CV disease. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 300 mg or 150 mg secukinumab until week 52 or to receive placebo until week 12 and then 300 mg or 150 mg secukinumab until week 52. The primary outcome was endothelial function measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Baseline FMD was significantly lower in psoriasis patients than healthy volunteers (4.4 ± 3.9% vs. 6.1 ± 3.3%, P = 0.01). At week 12, baseline-adjusted mean FMD was numerically higher in patients receiving secukinumab versus those receiving placebo, but this difference (300-mg group, +1.2%; 150-mg group, +0.76%; P = 0.223 and P = 0.403 by analysis of covariance) did not reach significance. At week 52, FMD increased across groups. FMD was significantly higher than baseline in patients receiving the label dose of 300 mg secukinumab for 52 weeks (+2.1%, 95% confidence interval = 0.8-3.3; P = 0.0022). Other relevant CV markers were unchanged. CARIMA indicates that secukinumab might have a beneficial effect on CV risk by improving the endothelial function of patients with plaque psoriasis.