Endocrine Abstracts

The development of total-body Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners has galvanised the field of molecular imaging by broadening the horizons of systems biology research in the context of human physiology and pathobiology. This is because the whole human body can now be interrogated dynamically with total-body PET systems, consequently molecular responses occurring at different systems can be imaged simultaneously and integrated as functional connectomes. Traditionally, a connectome has been described as a comprehensive set of neuronal connections of a species’ central nervous system. However, recent imaging developments have enabled the study of molecular connections across multiple organs. PET uses specific probes capable of reporting on different molecular processes in vivo and non-invasively. These probes are administered intravenously and through circulatory distribution reach all tissues in the body. Consequently, coupled with total-body PET, these probes can report on multi-organ molecular functionality with unprecedented temporal resolution. Recently, studies have reported distinct metabolic connectomes in cancer patients versus healthy controls using total-body PET imaging with [¹⁸F]FDG, an analogue of glucose. In animals, complex bone metabolic connectomes have been reported. These metabolic connectomes have shown to be capable of identifying disease and serve as better prognostic markers than conventional single organs metrics used in the clinical setting, illustrating the value of multi-organ connectome analysis over conventional single organ studies. The endocrine system is distributed throughout the body and produces hormones with effects on multiple tissues and organs all over the human body. Consequently, total-body PET imaging can serve as an important enabler of endocrine system level research. This presentation will review the fundamental principles of PET imaging, describe latest developments with total-body PET technology and provide a few examples of how multi-organ connectomes can transform diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of human diseases.