Targeted Molecular Radio-Immuno-Theranostics: From Cancer to other Human Diseases—in Honor of Prof. Dr. Otmar Dieter Wiestler
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: (radio)immunotherapy and imaging of tumors; bispecific antibodies; genetically modified immune effector cells; autoimmunity
Interests: development and characterization of new radiotracers and extractants; functional nanomaterials for multifunctional cancer imaging; supramolecular chemistry; dendrimer chemistry; coordination chemistry and thermodynamics of liquid two-phase systems
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In 2021, the Helmholtz International Lab (HIL) MHELTHERA (Monash-Helmholtz Laboratory for Radio-Immuno-Theranostics) was founded, continuing the long-standing cooperation between Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) and the Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf (HZDR, Dresden, Germany). It is funded by the Initiative and Networking Fund administered by the President, Prof. Dr. Otmar D. Wiestler (until November 2025), of the Helmholtz Association. The main task of the HIL project is the development of novel radio-immuno-theranostics for molecular imaging (diagnosis) and treatment of diseases, including cancer and heart and infectious diseases, using radiotherapy, immunotherapy, or combinations of both. For this purpose, novel radio-immuno-theranostics for targeting tissues, expressing the protease fibroblast activating protein (FAP), will be established. The novel targeting modules (TMs) will be constructed bio-/chemically from either (recombinant) antibodies or small molecules. The TMs will be modified with (novel) chelators and radiolabeled with a variety of either diagnostic, therapeutic, or theranostic radionuclides or suitable theranostic radionuclide pairs. By depending on the respective radionuclide, imaging will be performed using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) or Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT). The application of TMs labeled with therapeutic radionuclides (e.g., lutetium or actinium) will be analyzed in vitro and in vivo either alone or in combination with immunotherapy, including for redirecting T cells with bispecific antibodies or after genetic modification with switchable chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). Thereby, their efficacy and potential risks of side effects (e.g., cytokine release syndrome (CRS)) will be estimated at the molecular level in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the pharmacology, especially the pharmacokinetic properties, of the TMs might be optimal for either imaging or radio- or immunotherapy. Thus, for the multimodal application of the same TM, its pharmacology has to be adapted for the respective application. For this purpose, the TMs will be conjugated to nanomaterials (e.g., bismuth or gold nanoparticles) either directly or modified to enable the formation of modular complexes whereby not only the molecular weight but also the valence and the avidity of the TMs can be modulated.
Although the focus of this Special Issue is on summarizing the history and outcome of the HIL project MHELTHERA, contributions to the molecular mechanisms of multimodal imaging, radio-immuno-therapies, emerging radionuclides and novel chelators, and radio-immuno-theranostics in general are also very welcome.
Prof. Dr. Michael Philipp Bachmann
Dr. Holger Stephan
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- molecular diagnostics
- radiotherapy
- immunotherapy
- endoradionuclide therapy
- radiodiagnostics
- radio-immuno-theranostics
- radionuclides
- PET/SPECT imaging
- nanomaterials
- chelators
- chimeric antigen receptors (CARs)
- adapter CAR T cells
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