HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data All Versions of this Article: 2007-0216v1 25/11/2936    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ebert, S. N. Articles by French, B. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ebert, S. N. Articles by French, B. A.

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Noninvasive Tracking of Cardiac Embryonic Stem Cells In Vivo Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques

^aBiomolecular Science Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA;
^bDepartment of Pharmacology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA;
^cDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Key Words. Cell transplantation • In vivo tracking • Mouse • Embryonic stem cells • Heart

Correspondence: Steven N. Ebert, Ph.D., Burnett College of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA. Telephone: 407-823-4609; Fax: 407-823-0951; e-mail: ebert{at}mail.ucf.edu

Received March 26, 2007; accepted for publication July 31, 2007.
First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS   August 9, 2007.



Despite rapid advances in the stem cell field, the ability to identify and track transplanted or migrating stem cells in vivo is limited. To overcome this limitation, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect and follow transplanted stem cells over a period of 28 days in mice using an established myocardial infarction model. Pluripotent mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells were expanded and induced to differentiate into beating cardiomyocytes in vitro. The cardiac-differentiated mES cells were then loaded with superparamagnetic fluorescent microspheres (1.63 µm in diameter) and transplanted into ischemic myocardium immediately following ligation and subsequent reperfusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. To identify the transplanted stem cells in vivo, MRI was performed using a Varian Inova 4.7 Tesla scanner. Our results show that (a) the cardiac-differentiated mES were effectively loaded with superparamagnetic microspheres in vitro, (b) the microsphere-loaded mES cells continued to beat in culture prior to transplantation, (c) the transplanted mES cells were readily detected in the heart in vivo using noninvasive MRI techniques, (d) the transplanted stem cells were detected in ischemic myocardium for the entire 28-day duration of the study as confirmed by MRI and post-mortem histological analyses, and (e) concurrent functional MRI indicated typical loss of cardiac function, although significant amelioration of remodeling was noted after 28 days in hearts that received transplanted stem cells. These results demonstrate that it is feasible to simultaneously track transplanted stem cells and monitor cardiac function in vivo over an extended period using noninvasive MRI techniques.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. Pawelczyk, A. S. Arbab, A. Chaudhry, A. Balakumaran, P. G. Robey, and J. A. Frank In Vitro Model of Bromodeoxyuridine or Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Uptake by Activated Macrophages from Labeled Stem Cells: Implications for Cellular Therapy Stem Cells, May 1, 2008; 26(5): 1366 - 1375. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]