Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 18, 2025
Development of a 68Gallium-Labeled D-Peptide PET Tracer for Imaging Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expression
Published on: February 3, 2023
Radiolabeled Peptides for Molecular Imaging of Apoptosis
Mona Mosayebnia1, Maliheh Hajiramezanali2, Soraya Shahhosseini2
1Department of Radiopharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:
Apoptosis is a regulated cell death induced by extrinsic and intrinsic stimulants. Tracking of apoptosis provides an opportunity for the assessment of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases as well as monitoring of cancer therapy at early stages. There are some key mediators in apoptosis cascade, which could be considered as specific targets for delivering imaging or therapeutic agents. The targeted radioisotope-based imaging agents are able to sensitively detect the physiological signal pathways which make them suitable for apoptosis imaging at a single-cell level. Radiopeptides take advantage of both the high sensitivity of nuclear imaging modalities and favorable features of peptide scaffolds. The aim of this study is to review the characteristics of those radiopeptides targeting apoptosis with different mechanisms.
Insights
This review explores radiopeptides targeting apoptosis, a key process in diseases and cancer therapy. These agents offer sensitive, single-cell level imaging for early disease detection and treatment monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical imaging
- Molecular imaging
- Radiochemistry
Background:
- Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is crucial for health and disease.
- Tracking apoptosis aids in diagnosing cardiovascular/neurodegenerative diseases and monitoring cancer therapy.
- Key mediators in apoptosis pathways are targets for imaging and therapeutic agents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review radiopeptides targeting apoptosis.
- To discuss their diverse mechanisms of action.
- To highlight their potential in molecular imaging.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of radiopeptides targeting apoptosis.
- Analysis of their targeting mechanisms.
- Evaluation of their imaging characteristics.
Main Results:
- Radiopeptides combine nuclear imaging sensitivity with peptide scaffold advantages.
- Targeted radiopeptides enable sensitive, single-cell level apoptosis detection.
- Various radiopeptides utilize different mechanisms to target apoptotic pathways.
Conclusions:
- Radiopeptides are promising tools for apoptosis imaging.
- They facilitate early disease detection and therapy monitoring.
- Further research into their characteristics can optimize their clinical application.
