by Benjamin RotsteinImaging glucose utilization is a mainstay and the most well-known application of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. If one had to choose a single tracer that headlines the technology, surely many would select [18F]2-deoxy-2-fluoro-d-glucose ([18F]FDG). But imaging with [18F]FDG does not reflect the total picture of glucose distribution and metabolism in vivo; it mostly tells us about the facilitated glucose transporters GLUTs, and especially GLUT1, which provides basal glucose supply to almost all tissues. Over the last several years, a group out of University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has been developing radiotracers for the sodium-glucose linked transporters (SGLTs). Methyl [18F]4-deoxy-4-fluoro-α-D-glucosepyranoside ([18F]Me-4FDG) is also a glucose derivative, but is a poor substrate for the GLUTs and has greater affinity for SGLT1 and SGLT2. Similar to [18F]FDG, [18F]Me-4FDG is effectively trapped intracellularly as it is not a substrate for further downstream metabolism and due to low rate of exit through SGLTs.

by Salvatore Bongarzone and Verena Pichler

Written by Fabien Caillé and Sylvain AuvityTranslational development of PET tracers from bench to clinical applications involves different expertise and requires the determination of numerous parameters to minimize pitfalls

Horti, A. G. et al. PET imaging of microglia by targeting macrophage colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 116, 1686-1691, doi:10.1073/pnas.1812155116 (2019).Written by Igor Camargo Fontana