title: In vivo cell tracking by bioluminescence imaging after transplantation of bioengineered cell sheets to the knee joint.
abstract: In our previous studies, we have demonstrated effective regeneration of cartilage through the creation and application of layered cell sheets that combine both chondrocytes and synovial cells. In this study, we were able to demonstrate that cells derived from cell sheets can survive for long periods after transplantation into rat knee joints having osteochondral defects. We established a method for generating cell sheets from firefly luciferase-expressing chondrocytes obtained from transgenic Lewis rats, and carried out allogenic transplantation of these cell sheets into wild-type Lewis rats. We then administered luciferin and monitored the survival of the transplanted cells by using bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Our data showed that the transplanted cells survived and could be detected for more than 21 months, which was longer than expected. Furthermore, the BLI data showed that the transplanted cells remained in the knee joint and did not migrate to other parts of the body, thus confirming the safety of the cell sheets. In this study, we monitored the duration of survival of cell sheets composed of only chondrocytes, only synovial cells, or both chondrocytes and synovial cells, and found that all three types of cell sheets survived for an extended period of time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takaku
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Surgical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ukai
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Surgical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Surgical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Mami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kokubo
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.affiliation: Division of Development of Advanced Treatment, Center for Development of Advanced Medical Technology, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.affiliation: Institute of Advanced Biomedical Engineering and Science, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan.
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Surgical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Joji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mochida
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Surgical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan. Electronic address: sato-m@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Masato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D007719:Knee Joint; D049449:Luminescence; D051381:Rats; D023822:Tissue Engineering
keywords: Bioluminescence imaging; Cell sheet; Chondrocyte; Tissue engineering; Transplantation