title: Molecular imaging of the pulmonary circulation in health and disease.
abstract: The pulmonary circulation, at the unique crossroads between the left and the right heart, is submitted to large physiologic hemodynamic variations and possesses numerous important metabolic functions mediated through its vast endothelial surface. There are many pathologic conditions that can directly or indirectly affect the pulmonary vasculature and modify its physiology and functions. Pulmonary hypertension, the end result of many of these affections, is unfortunately diagnosed too late in the disease process, meaning that there is a crying need for earlier diagnosis and surrogate markers of disease progression and regression. By targeting endothelial, medial and adventitial targets of the pulmonary vasculature, novel molecular imaging agents could provide early detection of physiologic and biologic perturbation in the pulmonary circulation. This review provides the rationale for the development of molecular imaging agents for the diagnosis and follow-up of disorders of the pulmonary circulation and discusses promising targets for SPECT and positron emission tomographic imaging.
authors.affiliation: Research Center, Montreal Heart Institute, 5000 Belanger Street, Montreal, QC H1T 1C8 Canada ; Department of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC Canada.
authors.forename: Jocelyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dupuis
authors.affiliation: Research Center, Montreal Heart Institute, 5000 Belanger Street, Montreal, QC H1T 1C8 Canada ; Department of Radiology, Radio-Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC Canada.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Harel
authors.affiliation: Research Center, Montreal Heart Institute, 5000 Belanger Street, Montreal, QC H1T 1C8 Canada.
authors.forename: Quang T
authors.initials: QT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
keywords: Apoptosis; Endothelium; Fibrosis; Lung remodeling; Molecular imaging; Proliferation