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Liver Parametric PET

Award Number: R01DK124803
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/15/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2026

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Liver Parametric PET - PROJECT SUMMARY Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects approximately one-third of the general population in the United States. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) - a more severe form of NAFLD - develops in 5-10% of NAFLD patients (i.e., 5-10 million people in the US) with the hallmark of hepatic inflammation in the setting of hepatic steatosis. Differentiation of NASH from simple hepatic steatosis is vital for patient management in NAFLD as NASH is associated with accelerated progression into end-stage liver diseases (liver failure and liver cancer) and with much higher liver-related mortality than the simple fatty liver. While noninvasive imaging methods have been developed to quantify liver fat and liver fibrosis, there is an unmet need for new imaging methods to detect and grade liver inflammation. The goal of this project is to develop a positron emission tomography (PET) method to enable noninvasive assessment of liver inflammation and NASH diagnosis. Using the widely accessible radiotracer 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), we propose a liver parametric PET method using dynamic scanning and tracer kinetic modeling. We hypothesize that glucose transport measured by liver parametric PET can accurately characterize the liver inflammation underlying NASH. One major challenge with enabling this technique is that the liver is a unique organ with dual blood supplies from the hepatic artery and portal vein, requiring the knowledge of dual-blood input function (DBIF) for kinetic modeling, which is difficult to obtain in human PET studies. Our preliminary work has addressed this technical challenge by developing a novel optimization-derived DBIF modeling approach. With improved kinetic modeling, we have discovered in a pilot clinical study that the blood-to-tissue glucose transport rate K1 was strongly associated with histological liver inflammation grades. The focus of this proposal is to further develop and optimize the methodology of liver parametric PET and validate its effectiveness for assessing liver inflammation and diagnosing NASH in patients with NAFLD. More specifically, we will (1) develop the technical method of liver parametric PET; (2) Evaluate glucose transport rate K1 as an effective and unique PET biomarker of liver inflammation; (3) Combine liver parametric PET with CT or MR methods for multiparametric NASH diagnosis; (4) Shorten the scan time of liver parametric PET from one hour to fifteen minutes. The integrated outcome of these specific aims will be a new technical capability and validation of 18F-FDG PET for liver inflammation assessment and for detecting and grading NASH. The proposed method will fill the critical gap for noninvasive assessment of liver inflammation in fatty liver disease. Successful completion of this project has the potential to profoundly impact the clinical management of NAFLD patients and clinical trials of new NASH treatments.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	4	9/23/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $923,331 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	3	6/29/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$399,683
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	4	8/17/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$523,648
														Subtotal = $923,331

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $538,373 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	3	8/24/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$538,373
														Subtotal = $538,373

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $545,215 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	2	7/26/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$545,215
														Subtotal = $545,215

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $545,217 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS	1850 RESEARCH PARK DR, STE 300	DAVIS	CA	95618	YOLO	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	1	9/14/2020	NEW	$545,217
														Subtotal = $545,217

Grand Total All Awards = $2,552,136

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Liver Parametric PET

Award Number: R01DK124803

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/15/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 08/31/2026

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