Skip to Content
Merck
  • Nanoparticle-based CT imaging technique for longitudinal and quantitative stem cell tracking within the brain: application in neuropsychiatric disorders.

Nanoparticle-based CT imaging technique for longitudinal and quantitative stem cell tracking within the brain: application in neuropsychiatric disorders.

ACS nano (2014-08-19)
Oshra Betzer, Amit Shwartz, Menachem Motiei, Gila Kazimirsky, Iris Gispan, Efrat Damti, Chaya Brodie, Gal Yadid, Rachela Popovtzer
ABSTRACT

A critical problem in the development and implementation of stem cell-based therapy is the lack of reliable, noninvasive means to image and trace the cells post-transplantation and evaluate their biodistribution, final fate, and functionality. In this study, we developed a gold nanoparticle-based CT imaging technique for longitudinal mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) tracking within the brain. We applied this technique for noninvasive monitoring of MSCs transplanted in a rat model for depression. Our research reveals that cell therapy is a potential approach for treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Our results, which demonstrate that cell migration could be detected as early as 24 h and up to one month post-transplantation, revealed that MSCs specifically navigated and homed to distinct depression-related brain regions. We further developed a noninvasive quantitative CT ruler, which can be used to determine the number of cells residing in a specific brain region, without tissue destruction or animal scarification. This technique may have a transformative effect on cellular therapy, both for basic research and clinical applications.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Sigma-Aldrich
D-(+)-Glucosamine hydrochloride, ≥99%, BioReagent, suitable for cell culture
Sigma-Aldrich
D-(+)-Glucosamine hydrochloride, ≥99% (HPLC), powder
Sigma-Aldrich
Citrate Concentrated Solution, BioReagent, suitable for coagulation assays, 4 % (w/v)
Sigma-Aldrich
Citrate Concentrated Solution, BioUltra, for molecular biology, 1 M in H2O
Supelco
Sodium Citrate, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Supelco
Glucosamine hydrochloride, Pharmaceutical Secondary Standard; Certified Reference Material
Sigma-Aldrich
N-Hydroxysuccinimide, purum, ≥97.0% (T)
Sigma-Aldrich
N-Hydroxysuccinimide, 98%
Glucosamine for system suitability, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Glucosamine hydrochloride, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
USP
Glucosamine hydrochloride, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard