Can Nuclear Imaging of Activated Macrophages with Folic Acid-Based Radiotracers Serve as a Prognostic Means to Identify COVID-19 Patients at Risk?

• मुख्य लेखकों: Cristina Müller (लेखक), Roger Schibli (लेखक), Britta Maurer (लेखक)
• स्वरूप: पुस्तक
• प्रकाशित: MDPI AG, 2020-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• विषय: article
• ऑनलाइन पहुंच: Connect to this object online.

सारांश

Herein, we discuss the potential role of folic acid-based radiopharmaceuticals for macrophage imaging to support clinical decision-making in patients with COVID-19. Activated macrophages play an important role during coronavirus infections. Exuberant host responses, i.e., a cytokine storm with increase of macrophage-related cytokines, such as TNFα, IL-1β, and IL-6 can lead to life-threatening complications, such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which develops in approximately 20% of the patients. Diverse immune modulating therapies are currently being tested in clinical trials. In a preclinical proof-of-concept study in experimental interstitial lung disease, we showed the potential of ¹⁸F-AzaFol, an ¹⁸F-labeled folic acid-based radiotracer, as a specific novel imaging tool for the visualization and monitoring of macrophage-driven lung diseases. ¹⁸F-AzaFol binds to the folate receptor-beta (FRβ) that is expressed on activated macrophages involved in inflammatory conditions. In a recent multicenter cancer trial, ¹⁸F-AzaFol was successfully and safely applied (NCT03242993). It is supposed that the visualization of activated macrophage-related disease processes by folate radiotracer-based nuclear imaging can support clinical decision-making by identifying COVID-19 patients at risk of a severe disease progression with a potentially lethal outcome.

वस्तु वर्णन

10.3390/ph13090238
1424-8247