Tracking the Spark: PET Imaging of Early Mitochondrial Distress in Neurodegenerative Disease

Meagan McManus, Ph.D. 
Center for Innovation in Brain Science
Pharmacology, College of Medicine
University of Arizona

https://arizona.zoom.us/j/89911723730

Tracking the Spark: PET Imaging of Early Mitochondrial Distress in Neurodegenerative Disease

Abstract: Mitochondria are central not only to neuronal bioenergetics but also to intercellular signaling that shapes brain aging and initiates neurodegenerative cascades. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other mitochondrial stress signals act as early, immunogenic mediators that couple mitochondrial inefficiency to glial activation and progressive neurodegeneration. Here I will present convergent preclinical evidence supporting [18F]ROStrace PET- a novel, blood–brain-barrier–permeant, redox-sensitive tracer- as a translational tool to noninvasively detect mito-immune distress before overt pathology in models relevant to late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD).