Pulmonary fibrosis is the consequence of a variety of diseases with no satisfying treatment option. Therapy-induced fibrosis also limits the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in numerous cancers. Here, we studied the potential of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (RTKIs) to attenuate radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Thoraces of C57BL/6 mice were irradiated (20 Gy), and mice were treated with three distinct PDGF RTKIs (SU9518, SU11657, or Imatinib). Irradiation was found to induce severe lung fibrosis resulting in dramatically reduced mouse survival. Treatment with PDGF RTKIs markedly attenuated the development of pulmonary fibrosis in excellent correlation with clinical, histological, and computed tomography results. Importantly, RTKIs also prolonged the life span of irradiated mice. We found that radiation up-regulated expression of PDGF (A–D) isoforms leading to phosphorylation of PDGF receptor, which was strongly inhibited by RTKIs. Our findings suggest a pivotal role of PDGF signaling in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis and indicate that inhibition of fibrogenesis, rather than inflammation, is critical to antifibrotic treatment. This study points the way to a potential new approach for treating idiopathic or therapy-related forms of lung fibrosis.

Molecular imaging of tumor metabolism has gained considerable interest, since preclinical studies have indicated a close relationship between the activation of various oncogenes and alterations of cellular metabolism. Furthermore, several clinical trials have shown that metabolic imaging can significantly impact patient management by improving tumor staging, restaging, radiation treatment planning, and monitoring of tumor response to therapy. In this review, we summarize recent data on the molecular mechanisms underlying the increased metabolic activity of cancer cells and discuss imaging techniques for studies of tumor glucose, lipid, and amino acid metabolism.

Morphologic MRI of the lung in CF patients demonstrates comparable results to MDCT and chest x-ray. Because radiation exposure is an issue in CF patients, MRI might have the ability to be used as an appropriate alternative method for pulmonary imaging.