title: Labeling protocols for in vivo tracking of human skeletal muscle cells (HSkMCs) by magnetic resonance and bioluminescence imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We propose herein labeling protocols for multimodal in vivo visualization of human skeletal muscle cells (HSkMCs) by MRI and BLI to investigate the survival, localization, and proliferation/differentiation of these cells in cell-mediated therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  HSkMCs were labeled with different quantities of Endorem® and transfection agents or infected with lentiviral vector expressing the luciferase gene under the myogenin promoter. Cells were evaluated before and after intra-arterial injection in NUDE mice with N₂-induced muscle inflammation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neither iron labeling nor infection affected cell features; the number of iron-positive cells increased proportionally to the iron content in the medium and in the presence of transfection agents. Loaded cells were detected for up to 1 month by MRI and 2 months by BLI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These protocols could be used to visualize new stem cells, in vivo and over time, in preclinical studies of cell-based treatments for myopathies of different etiologies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, Section of Radiological Sciences, University of Milan, Via di Rudinì 8, 20142 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Libani
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lucignani
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gianelli
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Degrassi
authors.forename: Micaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bosari
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clerici
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ottobrini
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry*; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D058185:Magnetite Nanoparticles