采用光谱和时间分辨的多光子显微技术对8例未染色的人体冠状动脉组织进行研究,根据荧光光谱分离出冠状动脉内膜中的弹性纤维和胶原纤维,并计算粥样硬化病变与非病变冠状动脉内膜中两种纤维信号的比值,从而获得胶原纤维和弹性纤维相对含量的变化。采用荧光寿命评估了冠状动脉粥样硬化组织中弹性纤维生化特性的变化,结果显示,冠状动脉硬化斑块区域具有较短的平均荧光寿命。光谱和时间分辨的多光子显微技术能有效识别冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块,有望成为研究冠状动脉粥样硬化病变的新方法。

This study evaluated 8 unstained human coronary tissues ex vivo using spectrum- and time-resolved multiphoton microscopy. First, according to the spectra, the elastin fibers and collagen fibers in the coronary arterial intima can be separated clearly. Second, the ratios of the two types of fiber signals were calculated to assess changes in the relative content of the collagen and elastin fibers in the coronary arterial wall caused by an atherosclerotic lesion. Third, we assessed biochemical variations of the elastin fibers in the coronary atherosclerotic tissues by measuring fluorescence lifetime and found that the coronary atherosclerotic plaque has a lower mean fluorescence lifetime than a normal tissue. This study demonstrates that spectrum- and time-resolved multiphoton microscopy can effectively identify coronary atherosclerotic plaques, thus indicating its potential as a novel research tool for studying coronary arteriosclerotic lesions in the future.