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Advances in Clinical Oncology Research on 99mTc3PRGD2 SPECT Imaging

Cancer is currently the leading cause of death worldwide, with a global estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases and almost 10.0 million cancer deaths recorded in 2020 (). Early detection, diagnosis, and treatment are key measures for reducing mortality attributed to malignant tumors and prolonging survival time. The integrin alpha(α)v beta(β)3 receptor is frequently involved in the occurrence and development of malignant tumors (, ); it mediates cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix adhesion (, ) and is related to tumor angiogenesis and metastasis (, – ). The integrin αvβ3 receptor is highly expressed in activated endothelial cells and proliferating tumor cells; however, it is either not expressed or expressed at very low levels in normal endothelial cells, dormant vascular cells, and other normal cells (, ) and has a certain level of specificity. Therefore, the integrin αvβ3 receptor is a valuable target for diagnosing and treating malignant tumors.

Polypeptides containing the arginine-glycine-aspartate (Arg-Gly-Asp [RGD]) sequence can bind specifically to the integrin αvβ3 receptor with high selectivity and strong affinity (). Hence, these polypeptides can specifically demarcate lesions and their angiogenesis for tumor detection and have promising prospects for tumor diagnosis and treatment. Radiolabeled RGD peptides and their analogs have been intensively studied for their application in the non-invasive imaging of integrin αvβ3 receptor expression (– ).

The technetium-99m hydrazinonicotinamide-dimeric cyclic RGD peptide with three polyethylene glycol spacers (99m Tc-3PRGD2) is a 99m Tc-labeled molecular probe used in nuclear medicine for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Its core ligand, hydrazinonicotinamide-3PRGD2, is a new type of RGD dimer that can bind specifically to the integrin αvβ3 receptor with high selectivity and affinity. In addition, 99m Tc-3PRGD2 has rapid blood clearance and a high level of safety with no adverse reactions having been observed in animal models and humans to date (, ). 99m Tc-3PRGD2 SPECT imaging is widely used in clinical research because of its high diagnostic performance and excellent cost-effectiveness, which further highlight its potential for clinical applications. Herein, we review the advances in clinical research on 99m Tc-3PRGD2 SPECT imaging for tumor lesions over the past decade.

Neuron discovery could explain why some people don’t get Alzheimer’s

Some brains seem to defy Alzheimer’s. Even when the disease’s telltale plaques and tangles are present, certain individuals remain mentally sharp well into old age. This phenomenon, known as cognitive resilience, is one of the most intriguing puzzles in neuroscience today.

At the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, researchers led by neuroscientist Evgenia Salta have uncovered new clues. Their work suggests that resilience may depend not on the sheer number of brain cells, but on how a special class of cells, called immature neurons, respond to damage.

For decades, neuroscientists have debated whether the adult human brain retains any meaningful population of “immature” neurons, youthful-looking cells tucked inside the hippocampus.

Mechanisms Underlying an Enhanced NavigationBased Intervention to Improve Timely Adjuvant Therapy

This secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial examines the mechanisms by which Navigation for Disparities and Untimely Radiation Therapy (NDURE) improved timely postoperative radiation therapy relative to usual care navigation among patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

JCI: Address correspondence to: Moshe Arditi, 8,700 Beverly Blvd., Davis Building, Rooms D4024, D4025, D4027, Los Angeles, California 90,048, USA

Phone: 310.423.4471; Email: [email protected]. BK’s present address is: Department of Basic Oncology, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey. RAP’s present address is: NCI-designated Cancer Center; Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.

Forgotten memories can leave silent traces in the brain

Memory is not a perfect record. Some memories fade, while others remain hidden and can be brought back by reminders. But reminders can also distort what is remembered, and scientists still know little about how the brain accurately recovers memories or forms false ones.

In a new study published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers in the group of Johannes Felsenberg trained fruit flies to associate one odor with mild electric shocks. Soon after training, the flies avoided that odor, but 24 hours later the learned avoidance had faded. When the researchers later exposed the flies to the same odor as a reminder, the aversive memory was recovered, and the flies avoided the odor again.

The reminder only worked when key parts of the original setting, such as the chamber’s texture and lighting, were unchanged, suggesting that the fly brain used both the odor and its context to bring the memory back.

New 3D thermal cloak hides heat from infrared cameras

True thermal invisibility would require a barrier that would split the heat flow, guide it around an object, and reunite it on the other side. The object inside would be protected from the external temperature gradient, while an observer outside would see the pattern expected from an uninterrupted material. In thermal terms, there would be no obvious object-shaped disturbance to detect. This is the trick the UIUC-led team says its new structure, detailed in the journal Nature Communications, can perform.

This mechanism could also prove useful for heat management applications, especially in modern electronics, where processors, power components, batteries, optical devices, and temperature-sensitive sensors are often cramped into compact spaces.

Now, thermal cloaking itself is not new. Researchers have previously demonstrated flat, or effectively two-dimensional thermal cloaks, bilayer devices, and even an ultrathin “stealth sheet” that can hide and fake heat signatures. However, most earlier experimental devices worked with circular, spherical, or extruded shapes, or performed properly only when heat arrived along a prescribed axis.

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