Molecular Imaging of Brown Adipose Tissue in Health and Disease

Overview

Journal Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging

Specialties Biophysics
Nuclear Medicine
Radiology

Date 2014 Feb 11

PMID 24509875

Citations 34

Authors

Matthias Bauwens

Roel Wierts

Bart van Royen

Jan Bucerius

Walter Backes

Felix Mottaghy

Boudewijn Brans

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Purpose: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has transformed from an interfering tissue in oncological (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) to an independent imaging research field. This review takes the perspective from the imaging methodology on which human BAT research has come to rely on heavily.

Methods: This review analyses relevant PubMed-indexed publications that discuss molecular imaging methods of BAT. In addition, reported links between BAT and human diseases such as obesity are discussed, and the possibilities for imaging in these fields are highlighted. Radiopharmaceuticals aiming at several different biological mechanisms of BAT are discussed and evaluated.

Results: Prospective, dedicated studies allow visualization of BAT function in a high percentage of human subjects. BAT dysfunction has been implicated in obesity, linked with diabetes and associated with cachexia and atherosclerosis. Presently, (18)F-FDG PET/CT is the most useful tool for evaluating therapies aiming at BAT activity. In addition to (18)F-FDG, other radiopharmaceuticals such as (99m)Tc-sestamibi, (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), (18)F-fluorodopa and (18)F-14(R,S)-[(18)F]fluoro-6-thia-heptadecanoic acid (FTHA) may have a potential for visualizing other aspects of BAT activity. MRI methods are under continuous development and provide the prospect of functional imaging without ionizing radiation.

Conclusion: Molecular imaging of BAT can be used to quantitatively assess different aspects of BAT metabolic activity.

Citing Articles

Off the Beaten Path in Oncology: Active Brown Adipose Tissue by Virtue of Molecular Imaging.

Jalloul W, Moscalu M, Moscalu R, Jalloul D, Grierosu I, Ionescu T Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2023; 45(10):7891-7914.

PMID: 37886942 PMC: 10604972. DOI: 10.3390/cimb45100499.

Brown fat activation demonstrated on FDG PET/CT predicts survival outcome.

Park S, Choi E, Oh J, Oh J, Yoo I, Chung Y J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2022; 149(8):4847-4851.

PMID: 36266524 DOI: 10.1007/s00432-022-04390-7.

Cerenkov luminescence imaging of interscapular brown adipose tissue using a TSPO-targeting PET probe in the UCP1 ThermoMouse.

Lee S, Oh H, Kim Y, Bae S, Lee Y, Lee Y Theranostics. 2022; 12(14):6380-6394.

PMID: 36168637 PMC: 9475450. DOI: 10.7150/thno.74828.

Comparison of BMIPP-SPECT/CT to FDG-PET/CT for Imaging Brown or Browning Fat in a Preclinical Model.

Frankl J, An Y, Sherwood A, Hao G, Huang F, Thapa P Int J Mol Sci. 2022; 23(9).

PMID: 35563272 PMC: 9101718. DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094880.

The burning furnace: Alteration in lipid metabolism in cancer-associated cachexia.

Joshi M, Patel B Mol Cell Biochem. 2022; 477(6):1709-1723.

PMID: 35254613 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-022-04398-0.

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