In vivo imaging of TGFβ signalling components using positron emission tomography

• Published in: Drug discovery today Vol. 24; no. 12; pp. 2258 - 2272
• Main Authors: Rotteveel, Lonneke, Poot, Alex J., Bogaard, Harm Jan, ten Dijke, Peter, Lammertsma, Adriaan A., Windhorst, Albert D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2019
• ISSN: 1359-6446; 1878-5832
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2019.08.011

•The transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) pathway is important in disease.•Imaging the TGFβ pathway is vital for understanding its role in disease.•An overview of existing imaging tracers for the TGFβ pathway is presented.•The potential for imaging individual components of this pathway is discussed. The transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) family of cytokines achieves homeostasis through a careful balance and crosstalk with complex signalling pathways. Inappropriate activation or inhibition of this pathway and mutations in its components are related to diseases such as cancer, vascular diseases, and developmental disorders. Quantitative imaging of expression levels of key regulators within this pathway using positron emission tomography (PET) can provide insights into the role of this pathway in vivo, providing information on underlying pathophysiological processes. PET imaging can also be used to study the drug targeting of this pathway and to detect diseases in which this pathway is disturbed. In this review, we provide an overview of PET tracers available to study the TGFβ signalling pathway. In addition, we discuss future imaging targets for this pathway and possible leads for new PET tracers.