Molecular Imaging of the Human Microbiome: Biotechnological Probes and Translational Applications in Inflammation and Oncology

Abstract

Background: The human microbiome has an important role in physiological balance, immunological control, metabolism, and disease development. Although microbial changes have been related to inflammatory diseases and cancer, conventional culture and sequencing methods are limited to analysing specimens outside the body, lacking the spatial dynamics and metabolic activity of microorganisms in living tissues in real time. In vivo molecular imaging overcomes these limitations by allowing non-invasive visualisation of biological processes with microbiome-targeted radiological probes.

Objective: This review assesses radiological molecular imaging techniques and biotechnological probes for in vivo mapping of the human microbiome. It describes the technological, biological, and clinical translation obstacles and evaluates their usefulness in investigating host–microbe interactions spanning inflammatory and oncological disorders.

Methods: The microbiome, host-microbe interactions, molecular imaging, radiotracers, PET, SPECT, and associated diseases were the subjects of a systematic literature search across scientific databases. The imaging techniques, biological targets (such as microbial metabolism, enzymes, and transport systems), and clinical limits of experimental, translational, and review papers were assessed.

Conclusion: Biotechnology, microbiology, radiology, nuclear medicine, and precision medicine are all connected via microbiome molecular imaging. For non-invasive mapping of host-microbe interactions in inflammation and cancer, radiological probes have a great deal of promise. Improvements in probe specificity, sensitivity, safety, and quantification as well as integration with sequencing, metabolomics, multimodal imaging, and artificial intelligence are necessary to translate these techniques to clinical practice.