International Journal of Molecular Sciences

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Behrooz Hooshyar Yousefi

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Guest Editor

Department of Nuclear Medicine, School of Medicine, Philipps University Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
Interests: radiotracer development; molecular imaging; neuropsychological disorders
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Molecular research in psychiatry comprises the development of diagnostic tools for neuropsychological disorders. It is an exciting field that aims to comprehend, diagnose, treat, and investigate brain diseases, as well as mind and behavioral disorders. It includes the visualization and/or measurement of the causes and hallmarks of diseases using biological or biochemical processes at the cellular and molecular levels. As an interdisciplinary field between neurology and psychology, psychiatry benefits from contributions from many fields such as neuroscience, pharmacology, medicine, molecular imaging, biology, biochemistry, pathology, and psychology, with the aid of in silico, in vitro, and preclinical models, as well as in living humans.

This Special Issue focuses on developing and implementing molecular imaging strategies for research in “Neuropsychological Disorders”. Molecular imaging techniques include the design, development, and evaluation of diagnostics tools by means of nuclear medicine, optical and optoacoustic methods, ultrasound, molecular computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and spectroscopy. We welcome original research and review articles.

Dr. Behrooz Hooshyar Yousefi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

radiotracer development
molecular imaging
multimodal imaging
PET/SPECT/CT/MRI
optical imaging
neuropsychological disorders
β-amyloidopathy
tauopathies
α-synucleinopathies

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4689 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In Silico and In Vitro Study towards the Rational Design of 4,4′-Disarylbisthiazoles as a Selective α-Synucleinopathy Biomarker

by Bright C. Uzuegbunam, Junhao Li, Wojciech Paslawski, Wolfgang Weber, Per Svenningsson, Hans Ågren and Behrooz Hooshyar Yousefi

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(22), 16445; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms242216445 - 17 Nov 2023

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Abstract

The α-synucleinopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the deposition of α-synuclein aggregates (α-syn) in the brain. Currently, there is no suitable tracer to enable a definitive early diagnosis of these diseases. We reported candidates based on 4,4′-disarylbisthiazole (DABTA) scaffold with a high affinity towards α-syn and excellent selectivity over Aβ and tau fibrils. Based on prior in silico studies, a focused library of 23 halogen-containing and O-methylated DABTAs was prepared. The DABTAs were synthesized via a modified two-step Hantzsch thiazole synthesis, characterized, and used in competitive binding assays against [³H]PiB and [³H]DCVJ. The DABTAs were obtained with an overall chemical yield of 15–71%, and showed a calculated lipophilicity of 2.5–5.7. The ligands demonstrated an excellent affinity to α-syn with both [³H]PiB and [³H]DCVJ: K_i 0.1–4.9 nM and up to 20–3900-fold selectivity over Aβ and tau fibrils. It could be concluded that in silico simulation is useful for the rational design of a new generation of DABTAs. Further investigation of the leads in the next step is encouraged: radiolabeling of the ligands with radioisotopes such as fluorine-18 or carbon-11 for in vivo, ex vivo, and translational research and for further in vitro experiments on human-derived protein aggregates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostic Tools for Neuropsychological Disorders)

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Review

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33 pages, 2284 KiB

Open AccessReview

Radiotracers for Imaging of Inflammatory Biomarkers TSPO and COX-2 in the Brain and in the Periphery

by Bright Chukwunwike Uzuegbunam, Christoph Rummel, Damiano Librizzi, Carsten Culmsee and Behrooz Hooshyar Yousefi

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(24), 17419; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijms242417419 - 13 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1437

Abstract

Inflammation involves the activation of innate immune cells and is believed to play an important role in the development and progression of both infectious and non-infectious diseases such as neurodegeneration, autoimmune diseases, pulmonary and cancer. Inflammation in the brain is marked by the upregulation of translocator protein (TSPO) in microglia. High TSPO levels are also found, for example, in macrophages in cases of rheumatoid arthritis and in malignant tumor cells compared to their relatively low physiological expression. The same applies for cyclooxgenase-2 (COX-2), which is constitutively expressed in the kidney, brain, thymus and gastrointestinal tract, but induced in microglia, macrophages and synoviocytes during inflammation. This puts TSPO and COX-2 in the spotlight as important targets for the diagnosis of inflammation. Imaging modalities, such as positron emission tomography and single-photon emission tomography, can be used to localize inflammatory processes and to track their progression over time. They could also enable the monitoring of the efficacy of therapy and predict its outcome. This review focuses on the current development of PET and SPECT tracers, not only for the detection of neuroinflammation, but also for emerging diagnostic measures in infectious and other non-infectious diseases such as rheumatic arthritis, cancer, cardiac inflammation and in lung diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diagnostic Tools for Neuropsychological Disorders)

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