A comprehensive review on controls in molecular imaging: lessons from MMP‐2 imaging

Metalloproteinases (MMPs), including MMP‐2, play critical roles in tissue remodeling and are involved in a large array of pathologies, including cancer, arthritis and atherosclerosis. Their prognostic value warranted a large investment or resources in the development of noninvasive detection methods, based on probes for many current clinical and pre‐clinical imaging modalities. However, the potential of imaging techniques is only matched by the complexity of the data they generate. This complexity must be properly assessed and accounted for in the early steps of probe design and testing in order to accurately determine the efficacy and efficiency of an imaging strategy. This review proposes basic rules for the evaluation of novel probes by addressing the specific case of MMP targeted probes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The design and testing of novel MMP‐2 imaging probes should account for unspecific accumulation and signal. In this review, controls appropriate for MMP imaging experiments are discussed and their limitations stated. Suggestions are provided to perform a more sturdy assessment of probe efficacy in the scope of MMP‐2 imaging.
Source: Contrast Media and Molecular Imaging - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research