title: Molecular imaging of integrin αvβ6 expression in living subjects.
abstract: Integrins, a family of cell adhesion molecules composed of α and β heterodimeric subunits, are involved in a wide range of cell-extracellular matrix and cell-cell interactions. The study of integrin family members as targets for molecular imaging and therapy has been generally limited with the exception of integrin αvβ3. vβ6, a member of the integrin family, is expressed at low or undetectable levels in normal tissues, but is widely upregulated during many pathological and physiological processes, especially cancer and fibrosis, making it a promising target for molecular imaging. Noninvasive and quantitative imaging of integrin vβ6 expression would be very useful for disease diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and prognosis assessment. Although various molecular probes have been developed for positron emission tomography and single-photon emission computed tomography imaging of integrin vβ6 expression in preclinical animal models, further research efforts are required to optimize integrin vβ6-targeting probes for future potential clinical applications in the fields of oncology and beyond.
authors: Medical Isotopes Research Center, Peking University Beijing 100191, China ; Department of Radiation Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Beijing 100191, China.
authors: Hao
authors: H
authors: Liu
authors: Medical Isotopes Research Center, Peking University Beijing 100191, China ; Department of Radiation Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Beijing 100191, China.
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Wu
authors: Medical Isotopes Research Center, Peking University Beijing 100191, China ; Department of Radiation Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Beijing 100191, China.
authors: Fan
authors: F
authors: Wang
authors: Medical Isotopes Research Center, Peking University Beijing 100191, China ; Department of Radiation Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Beijing 100191, China.
authors: Zhaofei
authors: Z
authors: Liu
keywords: Molecular probe; cancer; fibrosis; noninvasive imaging; positron emission tomography (PET); single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); wound healing