PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Cameron C. Foster
AU  - Ryan A. Davis
AU  - Sven H. Hausner
AU  - Julie L. Sutcliffe
TI  - α<sub>v</sub>β<sub>6</sub>-Targeted Molecular PET/CT Imaging of the Lungs After SARS-CoV-2 Infection
AID  - 10.2967/jnumed.120.255364
DP  - 2020 Dec 01
TA  - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
PG  - 1717--1719
VI  - 61
IP  - 12
4099  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/12/1717.short
4100  - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/61/12/1717.full
SO  - J Nucl Med2020 Dec 01; 61
AB  - The true impact and long-term damage to organs such as the lungs after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remain to be determined. Noninvasive molecularly targeted imaging may play a critical role in aiding visualization and understanding of the systemic damage. We have identified αvβ6 as a molecular target; an epithelium-specific cell surface receptor that is low or undetectable in healthy adult epithelium but upregulated in select injured tissues, including fibrotic lung. Herein we report the first human PET/CT images using the integrin αvβ6-binding peptide (18F-αvβ6-BP) in a patient 2 mo after the acute phase of infection. Minimal uptake of 18F-αvβ6-BP was noted in normal lung parenchyma, with uptake being elevated in areas corresponding to opacities on CT. This case suggests that 18F-αvβ6-BP PET/CT is a promising noninvasive approach to identify the presence and potentially monitor the persistence and progression of lung damage.