Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: Experimental Models and Perspectives of Molecular Diagnostics Using Quantum Dots

Natalia Linkova; Anastasiia Diatlova; Yulia Zinchenko; Anastasiia Kornilova; Petr Snetkov; Svetlana Morozkina; Dmitrii Medvedev; Alexandr Krasichkov; Victoria Polyakova; Piotr Yablonskiy

doi:10.3390/ijms241411267

Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: Experimental Models and Perspectives of Molecular Diagnostics Using Quantum Dots

Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 10;24(14):11267. doi: 10.3390/ijms241411267.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ St. Petersburg Research Institute of Phthisiopulmonology, Ligovskii Prospect, 2-4, 191036 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
² St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, Dynamo pr., 3, 197110 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
³ Chemical Bioengineering Center, ITMO University, Kronverksky Pr, 49A, 197101 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
⁴ Department of Radio Engineering Systems, Electrotechnical University "LETI", Prof. Popova Street 5F, 197022 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
⁵ Department of Hospital Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine, St. Petersburg State University, University Embankment, 7-9, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Abstract

Sarcoidosis is a complex inflammatory multisystem disease of unknown etiology that is characterised by epithelioid cell granulomatous lesions affecting various organs, mainly the lungs. In general, sarcoidosis is asymptomatic, but some cases result in severe complications and organ failure. So far, no accurate and validated modelling for clinical and pathohistological manifestations of sarcoidosis is suggested. Moreover, knowledge about disease-specific diagnostic markers for sarcoidosis is scarce. For instance, pulmonary granulomatosis is associated with the upregulated production of proinflammatory molecules: TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL1, CCL2, CCL18, CD163, serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (sACE), lysozyme, neopterin, and serum amyloid A (SAA). Quantum dots (QDs) are widely applied for molecular diagnostics of various diseases. QDs are semiconductor nanoparticles of a few nanometres in size, made from ZnS, CdS, ZnSe, etc., with unique physical and chemical properties that are useful for the labelling and detection in biological experiments. QDs can conjugate with various antibodies or oligonucleotides, allowing for high-sensitivity detection of various targets in organs and cells. Our review describes existing experimental models for sarcoidosis (in vitro, in vivo, and in silico), their advantages and restrictions, as well as the physical properties of quantum dots and their potential applications in the molecular diagnostics of sarcoidosis. The most promising experimental models include mice with TSC2 deletion and an in silico multiscale computational model of sarcoidosis (SarcoidSim), developed using transcriptomics and flow cytometry of human sarcoid biopsies. Both models are most efficient to test different candidate drugs for sarcoidosis.

Keywords: experimental models of sarcoidosis; molecular diagnostics; quantum dots; sarcoidosis.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Humans
Mice
Models, Theoretical
Pathology, Molecular
Quantum Dots* / adverse effects
Sarcoidosis* / etiology
Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary* / diagnosis

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Feder-ation by the Agreement № 075-15-2020-933 dated 13 November 2020 on the provision of a grant in the form of subsidies from the federal budget for the implementation of state support for the establishment and development of the world-class scientific center «Pavlov center «Integrative physiology for medicine, high-tech healthcare, and stress-resilience technologies».