Nov - Séminaire de Guillem Pratx - Dream big, think small: PET imaging of cancer at the single-cell level

Positron emission tomography (PET) is the reference method for in vivo molecular imaging of dysregulated tumor metabolism, a hallmark of aggressive cancers. However, despite the tremendous success of this imaging test in the clinic, surprisingly little is known about the detailed biological origin of FDG-PET signals. FDG uptake is often assumed to reflect tumor cell metabolism and tumor cell density, when in fact many other factors contribute to the signal. This talk will present the results of ongoing studies on 18F-FDG uptake performed using radioluminescence microscopy, an in vitro imaging method capable of single-cell resolution. Using this method, it is possible to separate the intrinsic contributions of cancer and stromal cells to the FDG signal, to assess the cellular heterogeneity in kinetic transport parameters, and to investigate other physicochemical properties of FDG. This works provides a novel framework for understanding FDG uptake from the perspective of single cells.