title: Pulmonary vascular remodeling and right heart failure in pulmonary hypertension: future role of positron emission tomography in decoding the enigma.
abstract: Whereas the insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and associated right heart failure have increased in recent years, there is a lack of clinical tools to assess the pathobiological mechanisms in patients. Positron emission tomography (PET) provides an array of new possibilities to image and quantify relevant disease processes, including proliferation, angiogenesis, matrix remodeling, shifts in metabolism and neurohormonal signaling. Here we describe the first studies which were conducted to image pulmonary vascular remodeling and right heart failure in vivo and discuss additional targets for imaging which hold great promise for future use in PAH patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hendrik J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, Amsterdam, MB, 1007, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mariëlle C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: van de Veerdonk
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Adriaan A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lammertsma
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, Amsterdam, MB, 1007, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vonk Noordegraaf
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, Amsterdam, MB, 1007, The Netherlands. hj.bogaard@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: Harm Jan
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Bogaard
keywords: Extracellular matrix; Glycolysis; Oxygen uptake; Positron emission tomography; Proliferation; Pulmonary hypertension; Right heart