Elsevier

Academic Radiology

Volume 12, Issue 4, April 2005, Pages 502-510
Academic Radiology

Original investigations
Comparison of iron oxide labeling properties of hematopoietic progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood and from peripheral blood for subsequent in vivo tracking in a xenotransplant mouse model XXX1

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2004.12.021Get rights and content

Rationale and objectives

To compare and optimize ferumoxides labeling of human hematopoietic progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood and from peripheral blood for subsequent in vivo tracking with a clinical 1.5 T MR scanner.

Materials and methods

Human hematopoietic progenitor cells, derived from umbilical cord blood or peripheral blood, were labeled with Ferumoxides by simple incubation or lipofection. Cellular iron uptake was quantified with spectrometry. Then, 3 × 107-labeled cells were injected into the tail vein of 12 female nude Balb/c mice. The mice underwent magnetic resonance imaging before and 24 hours after injection. Precontrast and postcontrast signal intensities of liver, spleen, and bone marrow were measured and tested for significant differences with the t-test. Immunostains served as a histopathologic standard of reference.

Results

After labeling by simple incubation, only umbilical cord blood cells, but not peripheral blood cells, showed a significant iron uptake and could be tracked in vivo with magnetic resonance imaging. Using lipofection, both cell types could be tracked in vivo. A significant decline in signal intensity was observed in liver, spleen, and bone marrow at 24 hours after injection of efficiently labeled ferumoxides cells (P < .05). Histopathology proved the distribution of iron oxide-labeled cells to these organs.

Conclusion

Hematopoietic progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood can be labeled by simple incubation with an Food and Drug Administration-approved magnetic resonance contrast agent with sufficient efficiency to provide an in vivo cell tracking at 1.5 T. Progenitor cells from peripheral blood need to be labeled with adjunctive transfection techniques to be depicted in vivo at 1.5 T.

Section snippets

Cells and labeling procedures

Human hematopoietic progenitor cells were collected after a normal full-term delivery from umbilical cord vein blood and processed as described in detail previously (9). Human peripheral blood cells were isolated by leukophoresis from patients who underwent stem cell mobilization by treatment with 10 μg/kg granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for 12–15 days. The cells were supplied to us as cell suspensions in HF/2+ (Hank’s balanced salt solution; Gibco BRL supplemented with 2% FCS [PAN

In vitro studies

Umbilical cord blood-derived progenitor cells showed a significant iron oxide uptake and a significant decline in signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images, both after labeling with ferumoxides by simple incubation and after lipofection (P < .05; Table 1, Fig. 1). On the other hand, progenitor cells from peripheral blood did not show a significant iron uptake and no significant T2-signal decline after simple incubation with ferumoxides. But the peripheral blood cells showed a significant iron

Discussion

Data show that hematopoietic progenitor cells from umbilical cord blood can be labeled by simple incubation with an Food and Drug Administration-approved MR contrast agent with sufficient efficiency to provide an in vivo cell tracking at 1.5 T. Progenitor cells from peripheral blood need to be labeled with adjunctive transfection techniques to be depicted in vivo at 1.5 T. Hence, the cell-labeling properties differ with the source of the cells.

With respect to therapeutic applications, the best

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