PET imaging of purinergic receptors

Abstract

Over the recent years, interest in the purinergic signaling system has sparked in the field of positron emission tomography (PET). Purinergic receptors play key roles in physiological and pathological processes, although the exact role in these processes is not always fully understood. PET provides an excellent imaging technique to study (patho)physiological processes in the living brain, and therefore radiopharmaceuticals (or tracers) targeting different purinergic receptors have been developed recently. This chapter will discuss the state of the art of PET tracer development for the P2 family of purinergic receptors, which is especially of interest for visualization of neuroinflammation, more specifically microglial activation.