Magnetic resonance reporter gene imaging

Molecular imaging has undergone an explosive advancement in recent years, due to the tremendous research efforts made to understand and visualize biological processes. Molecular imaging by definition assesses cellular and molecular processes in living subjects, with the targets of following metabolic, genomic, and proteomic events. Furthermore, reporter gene imaging plays a central role in this field. Many different approaches have been used to visualize genetic events in living subjects, such as, optical, radionuclide, and magnetic resonance imaging. Compared with the other techniques, magnetic resonance (MR)-based reporter gene imaging has not occupied center stage, despite its superior three-dimensional depictions of anatomical details. In this article, the authors review the principles and applications of various types of MR reporter gene imaging technologies and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.