Siderophore-Based Molecular Imaging of Fungal and Bacterial Infections-Current Status and Future Perspectives

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Infectious Diseases
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Invasive fungal infections, like aspergillosis, pose life-threatening risks, particularly to immunocompromised individuals.
• Current diagnostic methods for fungal infections often lack specificity and sensitivity.
• Siderophores, microbial iron chelators, are being investigated for novel diagnostic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the preclinical use of siderophores for molecular imaging of infections.
• To highlight the potential of siderophore-based imaging probes for diagnosing difficult-to-detect infections.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing siderophores as chelators for radionuclides, such as gallium-68.
• Employing positron emission tomography (PET) for targeted infection imaging.
• Developing hybrid imaging agents by conjugating siderophores with fluorescent dyes.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated proof of principle for imaging pulmonary Aspergillus fumigatus infection using [68Ga]Ga-triacetylfusarinine C.
• Extended the application to imaging bacterial infections, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
• Created hybrid imaging compounds combining PET and optical imaging capabilities.

Conclusions:

• Siderophore-based molecular imaging agents show significant preclinical potential for diagnosing infections.
• The development of radionuclide- and fluorescently labeled siderophores offers versatile imaging strategies.
• Clinical translation of these promising imaging probes is still pending.