The Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Institute (BMEII) invites you to join our bi-weekly Engineering and Medicine Seminar Series. The next guest speaker is Changning Wang, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical Schoo presents "Visualization of Histone Deacetylases in the Human Brain". Dr. Wang will present "Visualization of Histone Deacetylases in the Human Brain".

You are welcome to join in person (preffered) or via Zoom ID: 94306778879

https://mssm.zoom.us/j/97800104914

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that epigenetic changes - functional modifications to the genome that do not change the DNA sequence, influencing almost all aspects of biology – cellular differentiation, growth, development, and aging and that provide a powerful mechanism by which environmental exposure can impact gene expression. Altered histone deacetylase (HDAC) expression has been linked to CNS diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder from analysis of postmortem tissues.

In the past years, we developed [11C]Martinostat, the first radiotracer that labels HDACs in living humans, has enabled the antemortem assessment of HDAC levels and distribution in the human brain. [11C]Martinostat shows specific HDAC binding with low nanomolar affinity and is actively under study in several patient populations. In this presentation, I will talk about the story of [11C]Martinostat, development and our recent human imaging studies such as AD, Parkinson's disease (PD), Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), bipolar disorder, alcohol use disorder (AUD), etc. We are further developing machine learning models to better define HDACs as biomarkers.

By illuminating the contribution of shared and distinct epigenetic changes in these patient populations and shedding light on the underlying neurobiology and behavioral features, we expect to have better understanding of the biology underlying these diseases and their differentiating clinical features. In the long term, our findings may lead to clinical use of [11C]Martinostat and new HDAC-targeted treatment strategies.

Bio

Dr. Changning Wang is an Associate Professor at Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wang has a multidisciplinary training background in molecular imaging, chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences and neuroscience. His research specializes in the development and application of novel imaging probes for preclinical and clinical neuroimaging investigations of human disease mechanisms and drug development, which might facilitate understanding of basic neurobiological causes or contributions to brain disorders. He has developed several new imaging probes for PET imaging, MRI imaging and optical imaging for brain targets such as protein aggregates, epigenetics and neuroinflammation.