Furthermore, cathepsin K and S inhibitors showed effectiveness in (pre) clinical evaluation for the treatment of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, suggesting that cathepsin inhibitors may also have therapeutic effects for the treatment of atherosclerosis.
These findings suggest that cathepsin K is a mechanosensitive, extracellular matrix protease that, in turn, may be involved in arterial wall remodeling and atherosclerosis.
To assess better the biology of CatK activity in vivo, we developed a novel near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) probe for imaging of CatK and evaluated it in mouse and human atherosclerosis.