In vivo cellular imaging of lymphocyte trafficking by MRI: a tumor model approach to cell-based anticancer therapy.
The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of in vivo cell tracking to monitor anticancer cell therapy by means of a high-resolution noninvasive MRI method. Ovalbumin-specific splenocytes (OT-1) labeled with anionic gamma-Fe2O3 superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles were adoptively transferred into C57BL/6 mice with growing ovalbumin-expressing tumors. OT-1 cells were tracked in vivo by 7 T MRI 24, 48, and 72 hr after they were injected. The results showed significant negative enhancement of the spleen at 24 hr, and of the tumor at 48 and 72 hr, after labeled cell injection. This suggests that the lymphocytes initially homed toward the spleen and were then recruited by the tumor. The presence of labeled cells was confirmed in ex vivo by 9.4 T microimaging of tumors and magnetic sorting of spleen cells. These results confirm that MR tracking of lymphocytes is feasible in vivo. This high-resolution imaging method could be used to improve the monitoring of immune cell therapy.
Smirnov
Pierre
P
Laboratoire de Recherche en Imagerie, Faculté de Médecine Necker, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France. pierre_smirnov@hotmail.com
Lavergne
Elise
E
Gazeau
Florence
F
Lewin
Maïté
M
Boissonnas
Alexandre
A
Doan
Bich-Thuy
BT
Gillet
Brigitte
B
Combadière
Christophe
C
Combadière
Béhazine
B
Clément
Olivier
O
D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003287:Contrast Media; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive / Q000379:methods*; D017710:Lymphocyte Transfusion / Q000379:methods*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL
D003287:Contrast Media