Theranostics 2020; 10(2):938-955. doi:10.7150/thno.37443 This issue Cite
Review
1. Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
2. School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
3. Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
4. Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
5. Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Molecular imaging modalities hold great potential as less invasive techniques for diagnosis and management of various diseases. Molecular imaging combines imaging agents with targeting moieties to specifically image diseased sites in the body. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have become increasingly popular as novel therapeutics against a variety of diseases due to their specificity, affinity and serum stability. Because of the same properties, mAbs are also exploited in molecular imaging to target imaging agents such as radionuclides to the cell of interest in vivo. Many studies investigated the use of mAb-targeted imaging for a variety of purposes, for instance to monitor disease progression and to predict response to a specific therapeutic agent. Herein, we highlighted the application of mAb-targeted imaging in three different types of pathologies: autoimmune diseases, oncology and cardiovascular diseases. We also described the potential of molecular imaging strategies in theranostics and precision medicine. Due to the nearly infinite repertoire of mAbs, molecular imaging can change the future of modern medicine by revolutionizing diagnostics and response prediction in practically any disease.
Keywords: molecular imaging, monoclonal antibodies, autoimmune diseases, oncology and cardiovascular diseases.