Tissue distribution of 18F-FDG-labeled peripheral hematopoietic stem cells after intracoronary administration in patients with myocardial infarction.
Adult stem cell therapy is expected to improve left ventricular function in patients with myocardial infarction. Because of the low risk of arrhythmia and the maximal concentration at the target tissue, intracoronary infusion of stem cells is preferred. The aim of this study was to investigate the homing and tissue distribution of intracoronary injected peripheral hematopoietic stem cells labeled with 18F-FDG.


METHODS
Seventeen patients with myocardial infarction were included as the intracoronary injection group (14 males, 3 females; age, 58 +/- 12 y). Three patients underwent intravenous stem cell injection as the intravenous injection group (3 males, 0 females; age, 50 +/- 20 y). After mobilization with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), peripheral stem cells were collected by means of apheresis. 18F-FDG labeling of stem cells was performed for 40 min with gentle intermittent mixing at 37 degrees C. The mean labeling efficiency was 72% (range, 46%-95%), and 44.4-175 MBq (1.2-5 mCi) of 18F-FDG-labeled stem cells were injected via an intracoronary catheter after stenting in infarct-related arteries. PET/CT images were obtained with a 3-dimensional acquisition mode 2 h after intracoronary infusion.


RESULTS
Two hours after intracoronary infusion, 1.5% (range, 0.2%-3.3%) of injected stem cells accumulated at the infarcted myocardium. Outside of the myocardium, spleen, liver, bladder, and bone marrow showed a high stem cell accumulation. The delayed image of a patient up to 20 h showed a prolonged residence of stem cells at the myocardium. Intravenous injection of stem cells showed a high initial lung uptake with no myocardial activity.


CONCLUSIONS
We have shown that 18F-FDG-labeled stem cell PET could be used to assess the tissue distribution and to measure the amount of stem cells at a target tissue. 18F-FDG-labeled stem cell PET can be used to measure and optimize the amount of stem cells injected.
Kang
Won Jun
WJ
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Kang
Hyun-Jae
HJ
Kim
Hyo-Soo
HS
Chung
June-Key
JK
Lee
Myung Chul
MC
Lee
Dong Soo
DS
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000628:therapy*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor