Iron administration before stem cell harvest enables MR imaging tracking after transplantation
Aman Khurana, Fanny Chapelin, Graham Beck, Olga D Lenkov, Jessica Donig, Hossein Nejadnik, Solomon Messing, Nikita Derugin, Ray Chun-Fai Chan, Amitabh Gaur, others (2013). Iron administration before stem cell harvest enables MR imaging tracking after transplantation. Radiology.
Abstract
In vivo–labeled MSCs demonstrated significantly higher ferumoxytol uptake compared with ex vivo–labeled cells. With electron microscopy, iron oxide nanoparticles were localized in secondary lysosomes. In vivo–labeled cells demonstrated significant T2 shortening effects in vitro and in vivo when they were compared with unlabeled control cells (T2 in vivo, 15.4 vs 24.4 msec; P < .05) and could be tracked in osteochondral defects for 4 weeks. Histologic examination confirmed the presence of iron in labeled transplants and defect remodeling. Conclusion: Intravenous ferumoxytol can be used to effectively label MSCs in vivo and can be used for tracking of stem cell transplants with MR imaging. This method eliminates risks of contamination and biologic alteration of MSCs associated with ex vivo–labeling procedures.