Imaging biomarkers for staging and treatment monitoring of liver and kidney fibrosis ((3)-P33*)

• Subject Area: Nephrology
• Term: from 2017 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 36842431

The aim of this project is to develop molecular imaging agents which specifically recognize elastin, collagen and the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). Initial evidence for elastin imaging has already been obtained, using magnetic resonance imaging and the elastin-specific agent ESMA. Using optical imaging, we have also already provided proof-of-principle for fibrosis visualization using the collagen-binding agent CNA35 and the PDGFR-binding peptide BiPPB. These findings will now be validated in multiple models, and probe properties and imaging protocols will be optimized. Towards the end of the project, efforts will be extended towards positron emission tomography, to facilitate potential clinical translation.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 57: Organ Fibrosis: From Mechanisms of Injury to Modulation of Disease
• Applicant Institution: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Twan Lammers