title: In vivo multimodal imaging of transplanted pancreatic islets.
abstract: Interest is increasing in the transplantation of pancreatic islets as a means to achieve insulin independence in individuals with type I diabetes. The success of this approach is hampered by the absence of methods to follow the fate of transplanted islets non-invasively. In vivo imaging seems to be the most appropriate technique to achieve this goal in small animals and eventually in humans. Here we describe a protocol for labeling and subsequent imaging of transplanted islets in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical imaging. The whole series of experiments can be carried out in roughly 48 h. We believe that our approach can significantly advance the current ability to determine islet distribution, and possibly survival, after transplantation. This information would be essential not only for the long-term monitoring of graft function but also for the design of improved transplantation and immunomodulatory methods.
authors.affiliation: MGH/MIT/HMS Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Zdravka
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Medarova
authors.forename: Natalia V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Evgenov
authors.forename: Guangping
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonner-Weir
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000166:cytology*; D016381:Islets of Langerhans Transplantation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D015336:Molecular Probe Techniques; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes