Noninvasive Molecular Imaging of Neuroinflammation

• Published in: Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism Vol. 32; no. 7; pp. 1393 - 1415
• Main Authors: Jacobs, Andreas H, Tavitian, Bertrand
• Format: Book Review Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.07.2012; Nature Publishing Group; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Blood. Blood coagulation. Reticuloendothelial system; Brain - immunology; Brain - pathology; Brain tumors; Central nervous system; Cerebral blood flow; Encephalitis; Epilepsy; Glioma; Homeostasis; Humans; Immune privilege; Immune system; Inflammation; Inflammation - immunology; Inflammation - pathology; Medical sciences; Microglia; Molecular Imaging - methods; Multiple sclerosis; Neurodegeneration; Neuroimaging - methods; Neurological diseases; Neurology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Regeneration; Review; Spinal Cord - immunology; Spinal Cord - pathology; Stroke; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; molecular imaging; inflammation; Alzheimer's disease; microglia; cerebral ischemia; multiple sclerosis; Molecular imaging; Nervous system diseases; Multiple sclerosis; Alzheimer disease; Cardiovascular disease; Inflammation; Inflammatory disease; Cerebral disorder; Microglia; Vascular disease; Central nervous system disease; Brain ischemia; Degenerative disease; Cerebrovascular disease
• ISSN: 0271-678X; 1559-7016
• DOI: 10.1038/jcbfm.2012.53

Inflammation is a highly dynamic and complex adaptive process to preserve and restore tissue homeostasis. Originally viewed as an immune-privileged organ, the central nervous system (CNS) is now recognized to have a constant interplay with the innate and the adaptive immune systems, where resident microglia and infiltrating immune cells from the periphery have important roles. Common diseases of the CNS, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS), and neurodegeneration, elicit a neuroinflammatory response with the goal to limit the extent of the disease and to support repair and regeneration. However, various disease mechanisms lead to neuroinflammation (NI) contributing to the disease process itself. Molecular imaging is the method of choice to try to decipher key aspects of the dynamic interplay of various inducers, sensors, transducers, and effectors of the orchestrated inflammatory response in vivo in animal models and patients. Here, we review the basic principles of NI with emphasis on microglia and common neurologic disease mechanisms, the molecular targets which are being used and explored for imaging, and molecular imaging of NI in frequent neurologic diseases, such as stroke, MS, neurodegeneration, epilepsy, encephalitis, and gliomas.