TY - JOUR
A1 - Janz, Anna
A1 - Walz, Katharina
A1 - Cirnu, Alexandra
A1 - Surjanto, Jessica
A1 - Urlaub, Daniela
A1 - Leskien, Miriam
A1 - Kohlhaas, Michael
A1 - Nickel, Alexander
A1 - Brand, Theresa
A1 - Nose, Naoko
A1 - Wörsdörfer, Philipp
A1 - Wagner, Nicole
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Maack, Christoph
A1 - Dudek, Jan
A1 - Lorenz, Kristina
A1 - Klopocki, Eva
A1 - Ergün, Süleyman
A1 - Duff, Henry J.
A1 - Gerull, Brenda
T1 - Mutations in DNAJC19 cause altered mitochondrial structure and increased mitochondrial respiration in human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes
JF - Molecular Metabolism
N2 - Highlights
• Loss of DNAJC19's DnaJ domain disrupts cardiac mitochondrial structure, leading to abnormal cristae formation in iPSC-CMs.
• Impaired mitochondrial structures lead to an increased mitochondrial respiration, ROS and an elevated membrane potential.
• Mutant iPSC-CMs show sarcomere dysfunction and a trend to more arrhythmias, resembling DCMA-associated cardiomyopathy.
Background
Dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia (DCMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder arising from truncating mutations in DNAJC19, which encodes an inner mitochondrial membrane protein. Clinical features include an early onset, often life-threatening, cardiomyopathy associated with other metabolic features. Here, we aim to understand the metabolic and pathophysiological mechanisms of mutant DNAJC19 for the development of cardiomyopathy.
Methods
We generated induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) of two affected siblings with DCMA and a gene-edited truncation variant (tv) of DNAJC19 which all lack the conserved DnaJ interaction domain. The mutant iPSC-CMs and their respective control cells were subjected to various analyses, including assessments of morphology, metabolic function, and physiological consequences such as Ca\(^{2+}\) kinetics, contractility, and arrhythmic potential. Validation of respiration analysis was done in a gene-edited HeLa cell line (DNAJC19tv\(_{HeLa}\)).
Results
Structural analyses revealed mitochondrial fragmentation and abnormal cristae formation associated with an overall reduced mitochondrial protein expression in mutant iPSC-CMs. Morphological alterations were associated with higher oxygen consumption rates (OCRs) in all three mutant iPSC-CMs, indicating higher electron transport chain activity to meet cellular ATP demands. Additionally, increased extracellular acidification rates suggested an increase in overall metabolic flux, while radioactive tracer uptake studies revealed decreased fatty acid uptake and utilization of glucose. Mutant iPSC-CMs also showed increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and an elevated mitochondrial membrane potential. Increased mitochondrial respiration with pyruvate and malate as substrates was observed in mutant DNAJC19tv HeLa cells in addition to an upregulation of respiratory chain complexes, while cellular ATP-levels remain the same. Moreover, mitochondrial alterations were associated with increased beating frequencies, elevated diastolic Ca\(^{2+}\) concentrations, reduced sarcomere shortening and an increased beat-to-beat rate variability in mutant cell lines in response to β-adrenergic stimulation.
Conclusions
Loss of the DnaJ domain disturbs cardiac mitochondrial structure with abnormal cristae formation and leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, suggesting that DNAJC19 plays an essential role in mitochondrial morphogenesis and biogenesis. Moreover, increased mitochondrial respiration, altered substrate utilization, increased ROS production and abnormal Ca\(^{2+}\) kinetics provide insights into the pathogenesis of DCMA-related cardiomyopathy.
KW - cell biology
KW - molecular biology
KW - dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia
KW - genetics
KW - metabolism
KW - mitochondria
KW - OXPHOS
KW - ROS
KW - contractility
Y1 - 2024
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350393
SN - 2212-8778
VL - 79
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Dreher, Niklas
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Schirbel, Andreas
A1 - Weich, Alexander
A1 - Hahner, Stefanie
A1 - Fassnacht, Martin
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
T1 - Impact of tumor burden on normal organ distribution in patients imaged with CXCR4-targeted [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-PentixaFor PET/CT
JF - Molecular Imaging and Biology
N2 - Background
CXCR4-directed positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has been used as a diagnostic tool in patients with solid tumors. We aimed to determine a potential correlation between tumor burden and radiotracer accumulation in normal organs.
Methods
Ninety patients with histologically proven solid cancers underwent CXCR4-targeted [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-PentixaFor PET/CT. Volumes of interest (VOIs) were placed in normal organs (heart, liver, spleen, bone marrow, and kidneys) and tumor lesions. Mean standardized uptake values (SUV\(_{mean}\)) for normal organs were determined. For CXCR4-positive tumor burden, maximum SUV (SUV\(_{max}\)), tumor volume (TV), and fractional tumor activity (FTA, defined as SUV\(_{mean}\) x TV), were calculated. We used a Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (ρ) to derive correlative indices between normal organ uptake and tumor burden.
Results
Median SUV\(_{mean}\) in unaffected organs was 5.2 for the spleen (range, 2.44 – 10.55), 3.27 for the kidneys (range, 1.52 – 17.4), followed by bone marrow (1.76, range, 0.84 – 3.98), heart (1.66, range, 0.88 – 2.89), and liver (1.28, range, 0.73 – 2.45). No significant correlation between SUV\(_{max}\) in tumor lesions (ρ ≤ 0.189, P ≥ 0.07), TV (ρ ≥ -0.204, P ≥ 0.06) or FTA (ρ ≥ -0.142, P ≥ 0.18) with the investigated organs was found.
Conclusions
In patients with solid tumors imaged with [\(^{68}\)Ga]Ga-PentixaFor PET/CT, no relevant tumor sink effect was noted. This observation may be of relevance for therapies with radioactive and non-radioactive CXCR4-directed drugs, as with increasing tumor burden, the dose to normal organs may remain unchanged.
KW - CXCR4
KW - C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4
KW - PET
KW - [68Ga]PentixaFor
KW - [177Lu]/[90Y]PentixaTher
KW - theranostics
KW - endoradiotherapy
Y1 - 2022
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324622
VL - 24
IS - 4
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Sayehli, Cyrus
A1 - Hänscheid, Heribert
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Fassnacht, Martin
A1 - Goebeler, Maria-Elisabeth
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Kroiss, Matthias
T1 - Successful combination of selpercatinib and radioiodine after pretherapeutic dose estimation in RET-altered thyroid carcinoma
JF - European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
N2 - No abstract available.
KW - papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC)
KW - selpercatinib
KW - radioiodine
KW - combination
KW - thyroid carcinoma (TC)
Y1 - 2023
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324435
VL - 50
IS - 6
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Weich, Alexander
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Hartrampf, Philipp E.
A1 - Serfling, Sebastian E.
A1 - Scheurlen, Michael
A1 - Wester, Hans-Jürgen
A1 - Meining, Alexander
A1 - Kircher, Stefan
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Pomper, Martin G.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Kircher, Malte
T1 - CXCR4-Directed PET/CT in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Neuroendocrine Carcinomas
JF - Diagnostics
N2 - We aimed to elucidate the diagnostic potential of the C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4)-directed positron emission tomography (PET) tracer \(^{68}\)Ga-Pentixafor in patients with poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC), relative to the established reference standard \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/computed tomography (CT). In our database, we retrospectively identified 11 treatment-naïve patients with histologically proven NEC, who underwent \(^{18}\)F-FDG and CXCR4-directed PET/CT for staging and therapy planning. The images were analyzed on a per-patient and per-lesion basis and compared to immunohistochemical staining (IHC) of CXCR4 from PET-guided biopsies. \(^{68}\)Ga-Pentixafor visualized tumor lesions in 10/11 subjects, while \(^{18}\)F-FDG revealed sites of disease in all 11 patients. Although weak to moderate CXCR4 expression could be corroborated by IHC in 10/11 cases, \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT detected significantly more tumor lesions (102 vs. 42; total lesions, n = 107; p < 0.001). Semi-quantitative analysis revealed markedly higher 18F-FDG uptake as compared to \(^{68}\)Ga-Pentixafor (maximum and mean standardized uptake values (SUV) and tumor-to-background ratios (TBR) of cancerous lesions, SUVmax: 12.8 ± 9.8 vs. 5.2 ± 3.7; SUVmean: 7.4 ± 5.4 vs. 3.1 ± 3.2, p < 0.001; and, TBR 7.2 ± 7.9 vs. 3.4 ± 3.0, p < 0.001). Non-invasive imaging of CXCR4 expression in NEC is inferior to the reference standard \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT.
KW - CXCR4
KW - NET
KW - NEC
KW - 68Ga-Pentixafor
KW - 18F-FDG
Y1 - 2021
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234231
SN - 2075-4418
VL - 11
IS - 4
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Eissler, Christoph
A1 - Hayakawa, Nobuyuki
A1 - Arias-Loza, Paula
A1 - Wakabayashi, Hiroshi
A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S.
A1 - Chen, Xinyu
A1 - Shinaji, Tetsuya
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Pelzer, Theo
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
T1 - Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in a Rat Model of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy using ECG-gated \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET
JF - Scientific Reports
N2 - In diabetic cardiomyopathy, left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction is one of the earliest signs of cardiac involvement prior to the definitive development of heart failure (HF). We aimed to explore the LV diastolic function using electrocardiography (ECG)-gated \(^{18}\)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (\(^{18}\)F-FDG PET) imaging beyond the assessment of cardiac glucose utilization in a diabetic rat model. ECG-gated \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET imaging was performed in a rat model of type 2 diabetes (ZDF fa/fa) and ZL control rats at age of 13 weeks (n=6, respectively). Under hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to enhance cardiac activity, \(^{18}\)F-FDG was administered and subsequently, list-mode imaging using a dedicated small animal PET system with ECG signal recording was performed. List-mode data were sorted and reconstructed into tomographic images of 16 frames per cardiac cycle. Left ventricular functional parameters (systolic: LV ejection fraction (EF), heart rate (HR) vs. diastolic: peak filling rate (PFR)) were obtained using an automatic ventricular edge detection software. No significant difference in systolic function could be obtained (ZL controls vs. ZDF rats: LVEF, 62.5±4.2 vs. 59.4±4.5%; HR: 331±35 vs. 309±24 bpm; n.s., respectively). On the contrary, ECG-gated PET imaging showed a mild but significant decrease of PFR in the diabetic rats (ZL controls vs. ZDF rats: 12.1±0.8 vs. 10.2±1 Enddiastolic Volume/sec, P<0.01). Investigating a diabetic rat model, ECG-gated \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET imaging detected LV diastolic dysfunction while systolic function was still preserved. This might open avenues for an early detection of HF onset in high-risk type 2 diabetes before cardiac symptoms become apparent.
KW - diabetic cardiomyopathy
KW - personalized treatment
KW - precision medicine
KW - ZDF rats
KW - ECG
KW - PET
KW - \(^{18}\)F-fluorodeoxyglucose
KW - \(^{18}\)F-FDG
KW - diabetes
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-171765
VL - 8
IS - 17631
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Bundschuh, Ralph A.
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Zsótér, Norbert
A1 - Kroiss, Matthias
A1 - Fassnacht, Martin
A1 - Buck, Andreas K.
A1 - Kreissl, Michael C.
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
T1 - Volumetric and Texture Analysis of Pretherapeutic \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET can Predict Overall Survival in Medullary Thyroid Cancer Patients Treated with Vandetanib
JF - Endocrine
N2 - Purpose: The metabolically most active lesion in 2-deoxy-2-(\(^{18}\)F)fluoro-D-glucose (\(^{18}\)F-FDG) PET/CT can predict progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) starting treatment with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) vandetanib. However, this metric failed in overall survival (OS) prediction. In the present proof of concept study, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of intratumoral textural features (TF) as well as volumetric parameters (total lesion glycolysis, TLG) derived by pre-therapeutic \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET.
Methods: Eighteen patients with progressive MTC underwent baseline \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT prior to and 3 months after vandetanib initiation. By manual segmentation of the tumor burden at baseline and follow-up PET, intratumoral TF and TLG were computed. The ability of TLG, imaging-based TF, and clinical parameters (including age, tumor marker doubling times, prior therapies and RET (rearranged during transfection) mutational status) for prediction of both PFS and OS were evaluated.
Results: The TF Complexity and the volumetric parameter TLG obtained at baseline prior to TKI initiation successfully differentiated between low- and high-risk patients. Complexity allocated 10/18 patients to the high-risk group with an OS of 3.3y (vs. low-risk group, OS=5.3y, 8/18, AUC=0.78, P=0.03). Baseline TLG designated 11/18 patients to the high-risk group (OS=3.5y vs. low-risk group, OS=5y, 7/18, AUC=0.83, P=0.005). The Hazard Ratio for cancer-related death was 6.1 for Complexity (TLG, 9.5). Among investigated clinical parameters, the age at initiation of TKI treatment reached significance for PFS prediction (P=0.02, OS, n.s.).
Conclusions: The TF Complexity and the volumetric parameter TLG are both independent parameters for OS prediction.
KW - personalized medicine
KW - Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie
KW - medullary thyroid carcinoma
KW - tyrosine kinase inhibitor
KW - TKI
KW - vandetanib
KW - 18F-FDG
KW - positron emission tomography
KW - 2-deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose
KW - PET
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167910
SN - 1355-008X
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Werner, Rudolf
A1 - Schmid, Jan-Stefan
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
A1 - Javadi, Mehrbod S.
A1 - Rowe, Steven P.
A1 - Märkl, Bruno
A1 - Aulmann, Christoph
A1 - Fassnacht, Martin
A1 - Kroiß, Matthias
A1 - Reiners, Christoph
A1 - Buck, Andreas
A1 - Kreissl, Michael
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
T1 - Predictive value of \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET in patients with advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma treated with vandetanib
JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine
N2 - Introduction: Therapeutic options in advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) have markedly improved since the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). We
aimed to assess the role of metabolic imaging using 2-deoxy-2-(\(^{18}\)F)fluoro-D-glucose (\(^{18}\)F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) shortly before and 3 months after initiation of TKI treatment.
Methods: Eighteen patients with advanced and progressive MTC scheduled for vandetanib treatment underwent baseline \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT prior to and 3 months after TKI treatment initiation. During follow-up, CT scans were performed every 3 months and analyzed according to Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST). The predictive value for estimating progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was examined by investigating \(^{18}\)F-FDG mean/maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmean/max) of the metabolically most active lesion as well as by analyzing clinical parameters (tumor marker doubling times {calcitonin, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)}, prior therapies, RET (rearranged during transfection) mutational status, and disease type).
Results: Within a median follow-up of 5.2 years, 9 patients experienced disease progression after a median time interval of 2.1y whereas the remainder had ongoing disease control (n=5 partial response and n=4 stable disease). Eight of the 9 patients with progressive disease died from MTC after a median of 3.5y after TKI initiation.
Pre-therapeutic SUVmean >4.0 predicted a significantly shorter PFS (PFS: 1.9y vs. 5.2y; p=0.04). Furthermore, sustained high 18F-FDG uptake at 3 months with a SUVmean>2.8 tended to portend an unfavorable prognosis with a PFS of 1.9y (vs. 3.5y; p=0.3). Prolonged CEA doubling times were significantly correlated with longer PFS (r=0.7) and OS (r=0.76, p<0.01, respectively). None of the other clinical parameters had prognostic significance.
Conclusions: Pre-therapeutic \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET/CT holds prognostic information in patients with advanced MTC scheduled for treatment with the TKI vandetanib. Low tumor metabolism of SUVmean < 4.0 prior to treatment predicts longer progression-free survival.
KW - positron emission tomography
KW - Medullärer Schilddrüsenkrebs
KW - Positronen-Emissions-Tomografie
KW - medullary thyroid carcinoma
KW - tyrosine kinase inhibitor
KW - vandetanib
KW - 2- deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose
KW - 18F-FDG
Y1 - 2018
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-161256
SN - 0161-5505
N1 - This research was originally published in JNM. Rudolf A. Werner, Jan-Stefan Schmid, Takahiro Higuchi, Mehrbod S. Javadi, Steven P. Rowe, Bruno Märkl, Christoph Aulmann, Martin Fassnacht, Matthias Kroiss, Christoph Reiners, Andreas K. Buck, Michael C. Kreissl, Constantin Lapa. Predictive value of 18F-FDG PET in patients with advanced medullary thyroid carcinoma treated with vandetanib. J Nucl Med. May 1, 2018;vol. 59 no. 5: 756-761. © SNMMI.
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Lapa, Constantin
A1 - Arias-Loza, Paula
A1 - Hayakawa, Nobuyuki
A1 - Wakabayashi, Hiroshi
A1 - Werner, Rudolf A.
A1 - Chen, Xinyu
A1 - Shinaji, Tetsuya
A1 - Herrmann, Ken
A1 - Pelzer, Theo
A1 - Higuchi, Takahiro
T1 - Whitening and impaired glucose utilization of brown adipose tissue in a rat model of type 2 diabetes mellitus
JF - Scientific Reports
N2 - Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is an attractive therapeutic target to combat diabetes and obesity due to its ability to increase glucose expenditure. In a genetic rat model (ZDF fa/fa) of type-2 diabetes and obesity, we aimed to investigate glucose utilization of BAT by \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET imaging. Male Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) and Male Zucker lean (ZL) control rats were studied at 13 weeks. Three weeks prior to imaging, ZDF rats were randomized into a no-restriction (ZDF-ND) and a mild calorie restriction (ZDF-CR) group. Dynamic \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET using a dedicated small animal PET system was performed under hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp. \(^{18}\)F-FDG PET identified intense inter-scapular BAT glucose uptake in all ZL control rats, while no focally increased \(^{18}\)F-FDG uptake was detected in all ZDF-ND rats. Mild but significant improved BAT tracer uptake was identified after calorie restriction in diabetic rats (ZDF-CR). The weight of BAT tissue and fat deposits were significantly increased in ZDF-CR and ZDF-ND rats as compared to ZL controls, while UCP-1 and mitochondrial concentrations were significantly decreased. Whitening and severely impaired insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in BAT was confirmed in a rat model of type-2 diabetes. Additionally, calorie restriction partially restored the impaired BAT glucose uptake.
KW - molecular medicine
KW - endocrinology
Y1 - 2017
U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-159066
VL - 7
ER -