Molecular Probes for Imaging Fibrosis and Fibrogenesis

Abstract

Fibrosis, or the accumulation of extracellular matrix molecules that make up scar tissue, is a common result of chronic tissue injury. Advances in the clinical management of fibrotic diseases have been hampered by the low sensitivity and specificity of noninvasive early diagnostic options, lack of surrogate end points for use in clinical trials, and a paucity of noninvasive tools to assess fibrotic disease activity longitudinally. Hence, the development of new methods to image fibrosis and fibrogenesis is a large unmet clinical need. Herein, an overview of recent and selected molecular probes for imaging of fibrosis and fibrogenesis by magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and single photon emission computed tomography is provided.

Keywords: collagen; fibrogenesis; fibrosis; imaging agents; medicinal chemistry.