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Research Group Molecular Imaging
Molecular imaging of tumors and their micro-environmental characteristics.
The current cancer research is now days focused on the understanding of the
molecular mechanisms of cellular growth. Increasing knowledge of those
mechanisms of oncologic disease results in the design of specific interventions
targeting those molecular processes. However, not all patients show benefits from
such selective treatments. In order to facilitate treatment guidance in individual
patients, a variety of imaging methods for visualizing tissue structures and functions
are been developed. Morphological and anatomical imaging with computed
tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MRI) are known for several years and are
continuously improving regarding their spatial resolution and sensitivity. However,
the capability to discriminate pathophysiological processes like inflammation versus
metastasis or fibrosis versus recurrent tumor is still limited. In the last decade,
functional imaging ? in particular positron emission tomography (PET) ? has made a
huge step forward to address those limitations. Using newly developed tracers highly
sensitive visualization of molecular targets is a fact in different fields such as tumor
metabolism, cellular proliferation, recognition of specific cell surface receptors,
angiogenesis, apoptosis, tumor hypoxia, ?
In order to make the step from bench to clinic in the evaluation of these molecular
targets, non-invasive imaging technologies for small animals are being developed. In
research, MRI, PET and CT are generally very expensive and therefore great effort is
put into developing optical imaging methods, using bioluminescence and
fluorescence. Using these imaging modalities, we are now able to visualize tumor
growth continuously using genetically engineered constructs with a reporter gene,
we can use labeled antibodies and probes based on multiplex fluorophores to
evaluate several molecular processes at the same time, ?
In this project, we proceed from the finding and made constructs of other projects,
trying to visualize tumors and their micro-environmental characteristics or molecular
targets. In the past years, we built up a lot of experience in the field of imaging
tumor growth (tumor cells genetically engineered to express a fluorescent or
luminescent reporter gene), tumor hypoxia (using exogenous reducible probes upon
hypoxia or target endogenous hypoxia up-regulated genes), gene therapy delivery
systems and specific cell surface receptors (CA IX, EGFR, ?). The main purpose of
this project is to form the bridge between lab bench and clinic by visualizing tumors
and molecular targets in preclinical animal models using non-invasive imaging
modalities.
All projects running in the lab have been peer-reviewed for their scientific merits and
received funding (EU, KWF, Zon-MW,..).