The following study was conducted by Scientists from Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, Translational Biology & Engineering Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada; The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Study is published in iScience Journal – Cell Press Publishing as detailed below.
iScience Journal – Cell Press Publishing (2020)
Bright Ferritin-a Reporter Gene Platform for On-Demand, Longitudinal Cell Tracking on MRI
Highlights
- First bright-ferritin MRI gene reporter platform for longitudinal cell tracking
- In vivo assembly of manganese nanoparticles for bright MRI contrast
- On-demand, sensitive, non-invasive in vivo deep imaging of proliferating cells
Summary
A major unresolved challenge in cell-based regenerative medicine is the absence of non-invasive technologies for tracking cell fate in deep tissue and with high spatial resolution over an extended interval. MRI is highly suited for this task, but current methods fail to provide longitudinal monitoring or high sensitivity, or both. In this study, we fill this technological gap with the first discovery and demonstration of in vivo cellular production of endogenous bright contrast via an MRI genetic reporter system that forms manganese-ferritin nanoparticles. We demonstrate this technology in human embryonic kidney cells genetically modified to stably overexpress ferritin and show that, in the presence of manganese, these cells produce far greater contrast than conventional ferritin overexpression with iron or manganese-permeable cells. In living mice, diffusely implanted bright-ferritin cells produce the highest and most sustained contrast in skeletal muscle. The bright-ferritin platform has potential for on-demand, longitudinal, and sensitive cell tracking in vivo.
Source:
iScience Journal – Cell Press Publishing
URL: https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)30537-X
Citation:
Szulc, D. A., X. A. Lee, et al. (2020). “Bright Ferritin: a Reporter Gene Platform for On-Demand, Longitudinal Cell Tracking on MRI.” iScience 23(8).
