Single cell tracking of gadolinium labeled CD4+ T cells by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
Cellular therapy is emerging as a promising alternative to conventional immunosuppression in the fields of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation, autoimmune disease, and solid organ transplantation. Determining the persistence of cell-based therapies in vivo is crucial to understanding their regulatory function and requires the combination of an extremely sensitive detection technique and a stable, long-lifetime cell labeling agent. This paper reports the first application of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to perform single cell detection of T cell populations relevant to cellular immunotherapy. Purified human CD4(+) T cells were labeled with commercially available Gd-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, Omniscan and Dotarem, which enabled passive loading of up to 10(8) Gd atoms per cell. In mixed preparations of labeled and unlabeled cells, LA-ICP-MS was capable of enumerating labeled cells at close to the predicted ratio. More importantly, LA-ICP-MS single cell analysis demonstrated that the cells retained a sufficient label to remain detectable for up to 10 days post-labeling both in vitro and in vivo in an immunodeficient mouse model.
Centre for Analytical Science, Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University , Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom.
Amy J
AJ
Managh
Sheldon L
SL
Edwards
Andrew
A
Bushell
Kathryn J
KJ
Wood
Edward K
EK
Geissler
James A
JA
Hutchinson
Robert W
RW
Hutchinson
Helen J
HJ
Reid
Barry L
BL
Sharp
D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium