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PET imaging of macrophages in cardiovascular diseases
Xiang Li1,2, Zachary T Rosenkrans3, Jing Wang1
1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China.
Insights
Developing specific positron emission tomography (PET) tracers targeting macrophages is crucial for early diagnosis and monitoring of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This review explores current PET imaging tracers for macrophages in CVDs, identifying research gaps for future advancements.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Medical Imaging
- Immunology
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain a leading cause of death in the United States.
- Macrophages play a critical role in the pathogenesis of various CVDs, including atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.
- Current diagnostic and monitoring methods for CVDs require enhancement due to high prevalence and costs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review target-based positron emission tomography (PET) tracers for imaging macrophages in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).
- To highlight the limitations of existing PET tracers, such as 18F-FDG, due to non-specificity.
- To identify research gaps and suggest future directions for developing improved macrophage-targeted PET imaging in CVDs.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies focusing on PET tracers for macrophage imaging in cardiovascular diseases.
- Analysis of existing PET tracers and their targets within macrophages relevant to CVDs.
- Evaluation of the specificity and sensitivity of different PET imaging agents.
Main Results:
- Macrophages are key players in the progression of cardiovascular diseases.
- 18F-FDG PET imaging shows limitations due to its uptake by active macrophages being non-specific and influenced by blood glucose levels.
- Various novel targets for macrophage-specific PET tracers in CVDs have been investigated.
Conclusions:
- More specific PET tracers are needed to accurately understand the role of macrophages in cardiovascular diseases.
- Macrophage-targeted PET imaging holds significant potential for improving early diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and outcome prediction in CVD patients.
- Future research should focus on developing and validating novel, highly specific PET tracers for macrophages in the context of cardiovascular diseases.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been the leading cause of death in United States. While tremendous progress has been made for treating CVDs over the year, the high prevalence and substantial medical costs requires the necessity for novel methods for the early diagnosis and treatment monitoring of CVDs. Macrophages are a promising target due to its crucial role in the progress of CVDs (atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction and inflammatory cardiomyopathies). Positron emission tomography (PET) is a noninvasive imaging technique with high sensitivity and provides quantitive functional information of the macrophages in CVDs. Although 18F-FDG can be taken up by active macrophages, the PET imaging tracer is non-specific and susceptible to blood glucose levels. Thus, developing more specific PET tracers will help us understand the role of macrophages in CVDs. Moreover, macrophage-targeted PET imaging will further improve the diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and outcome prediction for patients with CVDs. In this review, we summarize various targets-based tracers for the PET imaging of macrophages in CVDs and highlight research gaps to advise future directions.
