Abstract:

Current tuberculosis treatment monitoring relies on traditional bacteriological and imaging methods, which are insufficient to meet clinical needs. Recently, Khan et al. reported a novel approach to image live Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in vivo via PET-CT using [¹⁸F]Fluoro-2-deoxy-trehalose (2-[¹⁸F]FDT), a reporter of mycobacteria-selective enzyme activity. This technique images live MTB in non-human primates and monitor the effects of treatment through the change of [¹⁸F]FDT uptake. Moreover, [¹⁸F]FDT is a safe tracer that is primarily excreted via the kidneys. We believe that this technology holds great potential for applications in determining tuberculosis treatment endpoints, differentiating active tuberculosis, assessing drug efficacy, and accelerating the development of anti-tuberculosis drugs and vaccines. We provide a brief overview of the imaging principles and preliminary findings of this technology, as well as a discussion of its potential applications of tuberculosis clinical researches for peer references.

Key words: Tuberculosis, Trehalose, Isotope labeling, Positron-emission tomography, Review literature as topic