Oral Presentation 6th Australian Health and Medical Research Congress 2012

Molecular Imaging in Inflammation: A Target for All Diseases (#27)

J.James Frost 1
  1. BioMolecular Imaging, LLC, Baltimore, MD, United States

Molecular imaging has far-reaching applications in many diseases, therapeutic areas, and organ systems, including brain, cardiovascular, and cancer. Inflammation and infection imaging is a relatively new area of investigation and clinical development where similar targets are relevant to fundamental pathophysiologic mechanisms across multiple organs and diseases. For example, inflammatory mechanisms play a role in arthritis, neurodegenerative disorders, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes. One target of interest is the mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO). The TSPO functions in cholesterol transport, immunomodulation and apoptosis. It up-regulates in inflammation and tissue injury, and therefore, represents a compelling imaging target. Many C-11 and F-18 PET probes have been developed and are being applied to diseases including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Newer inflammatory molecular markers are being targeted for therapeutic applications, but have not yet been exploited for imaging. Arachidonic acid cascade, kinase, and spingolipid targets will be discussed, including strategies for development of new imaging probes. Inflammation imaging has the potential to greatly advance the breadth of molecular imaging, with beneficial applications for drug development and new diagnostics spanning many diseases.